Methodist Hospital In Arcadia Convenes Triage Team After Meeting Criteria For Crisis Care Mode
ARCADIA (CBSLA) — Methodist Hospital in Arcadia has posted a dire message on its website to people seeking care at its facility: medical care may be withheld from patients unlikely to survive COVID-19.
Methodist Hospital of Southern California told employees in a memo the Arcadia hospital is now caring 233 patients, more than half of whom are COVID positive and in isolation. Under the county's checklist for crisis care mode, Methodist Hospital says it has now met that criteria.
The hospital says they have been forced to convene a triage team to "review the severity of all critically ill patients at Methodist Hospital." Patients, meanwhile, were advised to be aware of the limited options for medical care and let hospital staff know in advance of they have an advance healthcare directive, a "Do Not Attempt Resuscitation" order, and if they do not want blood products or life-saving treatments, like mechanical ventilation or a surgical procedure to prolong life.
"If a patient becomes extremely ill and very unlikely to survive their illness (even with life-saving treatment), then certain resources currently limited in availability, such as ICU care or a ventilator, may be allocated to another patient who is more likely to survive," the hospital's message said.