Detroit preparing to let Doctors decide who dies and who lives based on available ventilators and supplies.
(WXYZ) — A leaked memo from Henry Ford Health System being shared around social media is not an active policy, and is a "worst case scenario," according to a hospital spokesperson.
The policy is says in part, "Patients who have the best chance of getting better are our first priority. Patients will be evaluated for the best plan of care and dying patients will be provided comfort care."
It is addressed to patients, families and the community, and is part of the hospital's emergency response planning, which is standard with other health systems.
“With a pandemic of this nature, health systems must be prepared for a worst case scenario. Gathering the collective wisdom from across our industry, we carefully crafted our policy to provide critical guidance to healthcare workers for making difficult patient care decisions during an unprecedented emergency, Dr. Adnan Munkarah, EVP and chief clinical officer, said. "These guidelines are deeply patient focused, intended to be honoring to patients and families. We were pleased to share our policy with our colleagues across Michigan to help others develop similar,
compassionate approaches. It is our hope we never have to apply them and we will always do everything we can to care for our patients, utilizing every resource we have to make that happen."
According to the memo, if someone comes in and needs to be in the ICU or on ventilation, "you will be assessed for eligibility based on on your specific condition."
Other portions of the memo include that patients who are treated with a ventilator may have them stopped if they don't improve over time, and that patients who are not eligible for ICU will receive treatment for pain control and comfort measures.
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