{"id":9469,"date":"2020-03-20T23:13:54","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T06:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=9469"},"modified":"2020-03-21T03:58:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T10:58:17","slug":"post9-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=9469","title":{"rendered":"“\u2018Chilling\u2019 Plans: Who Gets Care as Washington State Hospitals Fill Up?, The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Karen Weise<\/span> and Mike Baker, March 20, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Fearing a critical shortage of lifesaving resources as the coronavirus spreads, Washington State is engaged in grim discussions to determine which dying patients would get priority.<\/em><\/p>\n

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SEATTLE \u2014 Medical leaders in Washington State, which has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in the country, have quietly begun preparing a bleak triage strategy to determine which patients may have to be denied complete medical care in the event that the health system becomes overwhelmed by the coronavirus in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Fearing a critical shortage of supplies, including the ventilators needed to help the most seriously ill patients breathe<\/a>, state officials and hospital leaders held a conference call on Wednesday night to discuss the plans, according to several people involved in the talks. The triage document, still under consideration, will assess factors such as age, health and likelihood of survival in determining who will get access to full care and who will merely be provided comfort care, with the expectation that they will die.<\/p>\n

The effort is statewide so individual doctors and hospitals will not be left to make such decisions, said Cassie Sauer, chief executive of the Washington State Hospital Association, one of the groups convening the call.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s protecting the clinicians so you don\u2019t have one person who\u2019s kind of playing God,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cIt is chilling, and it should not happen in America.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms. Sauer stressed that several things, including more hospital beds and equipment, could reduce the need to make such decisions. \u201cThis country has resources,\u201d she said.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The state has been urgently seeking ventilators for patients and protective masks for health care workers<\/a>, including from the Strategic National Stockpile, a repository of critical medical supplies for public health emergencies. Officials have also been looking to have the U.S. Navy hospital ship Mercy, which has 80 intensive care beds<\/a>, dock near Seattle to handle seriously ill patients other than those who have contracted Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.<\/p>\n

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Latest Updates: Coronavirus Outbreak<\/h1>\n