In this week’s coronavirus update with Southwest Health System staff, KSJD speaks with Tony Sudduth, CEO of SHS, about Colorado’s crisis standards of care and preparing for the peak of coronavirus cases.
Earlier this month, Colorado updated its “crisis standards of care.” It’s a set of guidelines for hospitals to assist in deciding who receives treatment under extremely limited resources. The standards work on a tiered system, the first of which looks at the patient’s current health.
Following tiers consider if patients have a certain profession, like first responders, or if they’re pregnant. In the most extreme scenarios, and if other factors are equal, the state advises for a lottery system.
Note: Southwest Health System is an underwriter of KSJD.
The standards are not currently in effect. That would require an order from the state. But in the event that Colorado’s health care system is overwhelmed, it could help hospitals through difficult decisions.
“I hope we never get there and I don’t think we will,” Sudduth said. “But I am glad that we have some guidance in order to lead us through that.”
Forecasting when the peak will arrive in southwest Colorado and the rest of the state is a complex process. Regardless of when it does, hospitals across the state are preparing for its arrival. At SHS, the EMT bay is just one of the locations now with additional cots to be used in the event of a surge of patients.
Hear Sudduth’s full interview with KSJD below.