1. If no surrogate is reasonably available, willing to make a decision regarding issuance of an order not to resuscitate, and competent to make a decision regarding issuance of an order not to resuscitate on behalf of an adult patient who lacks capacity and who had not previously expressed a decision regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation pursuant to this article, an attending practitioner or hospital may commence a special proceeding pursuant to article four of the civil practice law and rules, in a court of competent jurisdiction, for a judgment directing the physician , nurse practitioner or physician assistant to issue an order not to resuscitate where the patient has a terminal condition, is permanently unconscious, or resuscitation would impose an extraordinary burden on the patient in light of the patient’s medical condition and the expected outcome of resuscitation for the patient, and issuance of an order not to resuscitate is consistent with the patient’s wishes including a consideration of the patient’s religious and moral beliefs or, in the absence of evidence of the patient’s wishes, the patient’s best interests.

Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2976

  • Adult: means any person who is eighteen years of age or older, or is the parent of a child, or has married. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Attending practitioner: means the physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, licensed or certified pursuant to title eight of the education law, selected by or assigned to a patient in a hospital who has primary responsibility for the treatment and care of the patient. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Capacity: means the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of an order not to resuscitate, including the benefits and disadvantages of such an order, and to reach an informed decision regarding the order. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: means measures to restore cardiac function or to support ventilation in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Hospital: means a hospital as defined in subdivision ten of section 1. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Nurse practitioner: means a nurse practitioner certified pursuant to section sixty-nine hundred ten of the education law who is practicing in accordance with subdivision three of section sixty-nine hundred two of the education law. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Order not to resuscitate: means an order not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the event a patient suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Patient: means a person admitted to a hospital. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Reasonably available: means that a person to be contacted can be contacted with diligent efforts by an attending practitioner or another person acting on behalf of the attending practitioner or the hospital. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Surrogate: means the person selected to make a decision regarding resuscitation on behalf of another person pursuant to section twenty-nine hundred sixty-five of this article. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Terminal condition: means an illness or injury from which there is no recovery, and which reasonably can be expected to cause death within one year. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
2. Nothing in this article shall be construed to preclude a court of competent jurisdiction from approving the issuance of an order not to resuscitate under circumstances other than those under which such an order may be issued pursuant to this article.