Plans for who gets care when Washington hospitals fill up being discussed

As the coronavirus outbreak grows and stresses the resources of hospitals, how to handle the massive influx of patients remains a major issue, and harsh decisions may be coming.

According to a report from the New York Times, medical leaders in Washington are planning for worst case scenarios in the event the medical system becomes completely overwhelmed. Discussions were recently held for triage strategies, which may take into account age and likelihood of survival in determining who would get full care, and who may only receive “comfort care” under the expectation that they would not survive.

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While nothing is concrete at this point, such plans are due in part to a lack of supplies like beds, equipment, and especially ventilators necessary to help the breathing of very ill patients. Any decisions would be made by a statewide standard so it’s not left up to individual doctors or hospitals, a Washington State Hospital Association executive told the Times.

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Providence is looking to volunteers to help provide its hospitals with millions of medical masks for workers on the front line of the coronavirus outbreak. And in a letter asking President Trump to send a Navy hospital ship to Washington, Gov. Inslee noted that he “anticipate(s) our hospitals will be in crisis by the end of this month.”

While doctors are hopeful that social distancing measures will help mitigate the spread, such bleak planning is simply being done in the event of a crisis, with the intention that a standard system would prevent any patient’s care from depending on which hospital they go to.

The plans are being made by the Northwest Healthcare Response Network, a group of hospitals that tackle emergency responses in partnership with the Washington State Department of Health.

“This is a shift to caring for the population, where you look at the whole population of people who need care and make a determination about who is most likely to survive, and you provide care to them,” Cassie Sauer, chief executive of the Washington State Hospital Association, told the Times.

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