An EMT in California told me that they have to provide lifesaving efforts if the Do Not Resuscitate given to them is not an original on the scene of an emergency. Can anyone explain this?

I would imagine state laws vary, but they must know what they have to do. This is a good reason to have several "originals" from the attorney - those signed by the person, not photocopied. It's kind of a scary rule, as we make copies of these things to make sure they are available when needed. You could check with the CA Bar Association.
Carol

Char,
...just to add to what Carol wrote...I used a legal website that has blank forms to fill in. Just check to see if they have updated forms for your state. It was so easy to use and saved us a lot of money. They also keep your forms on file for a certain period of time. I made several originals of my Mom's docs - some had to be notarized in front of witnesses. (all Mom's doctors seem to ask for originals to have on file.)

Carol: Do you know if the the DNR directive is included as part of the medical PoA? Or are these separate documents?

Thanks,
Lilli