If North Texas runs out of ICU hospital beds, doctors can consider a patient’s vaccination status
North Texas doctors have quietly developed a plan that seeks to prepare for the possibility that due to the COVID-19 surge the region will run out of intensive-care beds.
If that happens, for the first time, doctors officially will be allowed to take vaccination status of sick patients into account along with other triage factors to see who gets a bed.
A copy of an internal memo written by Dr. Robert Fine, co-chair of the North Texas Mass Critical Care Guideline Task Force, was sent to members of the task force — and leaked to The Watchdog. It summarizes the latest work by the task force, a volunteer group that periodically updates medical guidelines for hospitals in our region. There are about 50 members from various hospitals in the group. Although their recommendations are not enforceable, the guidelines are generally followed.
The one-page summary memo is a “heads up” alert in the event things get worse, says Dr. Mark Casanova, director of clinical ethics for Baylor University Medical Center and a spokesperson for the task force. After Monday’s meeting, doctors had yet to make plans to inform the public.
“We’re trying to decide how to explain this addition to the public,” Casanova said.
Although doctors make triage decisions all the time, the proposed guideline addition is significant. Casanova predicted that if this change were copied by others medical care, for as long as the crisis persists, “is going to look and feel different for everybody who is alive right now in the United States of America.”
Yet a leading medical ethicist who studies how COVID-19 affects communities says he worries that adding vaccination status to the triage of patients will unfairly harm low-income people and people of color. These groups are historically disadvantaged when it comes to obtaining proper medical care.
One important note: A non-vaccinated person will not necessarily be denied care when competing with a vaccinated patient for an ICU bed, doctors say. Other medical factors come into play, such as underlying conditions and the likelihood that a patient will get better and leave the hospital.
Unreal what they’re attempting to say, here. That healthcare is being RATIONED....based on your ‘papers’ status???
FTA....
....The one-page summary memo is a “heads up” alert in the event things get worse, says Dr. Mark Casanova, director of clinical ethics for Baylor University Medical Center and a spokesperson for the task force. After Monday’s meeting, doctors had yet to make plans to inform the public....
Talk about fear mongering!! And, rationing.
Isn’t this the same guy who was caught lying, early on during china flu, about numbers?
And, is a pro-vaxxer ‘administrator’?
There’s something about him that sounds so familiar.
As an aside....a friend told us, today, that TX A&M is offering a free semester of tuition....for those kids who’ve taken these shots!
Students who have not taken the shots have to provide a negative test....which makes ABSOLUTELY NO sense....what if they contract china virus when they’re leaving the testing center? Or, the next day?
The absurdity with all of this, continues.
This is so crazy.
Off topic a little on your post...
This just happened a little while ago at work. Some woke co-worker got made a little when I told her why should nurses get a mandated vax now to keep their jobs!
Oh well who cares..she said they deserve to lose their job because they are health care workers. I told her exactly! You made my point. Heroes last year during the pandemic but now fired if not vaxxed! Well she walked off and I laughed and said don't get mad! LOL! She actually butted in a converstation I was in with someone else! We just laughed!