The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHHS) on Saturday activated crisis standards of care for 20 hospitals in the state as it struggles with the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, with some hospitals resorting to having to ration health care.
“Today’s action recognizes that Alaska has an interconnected and interdependent health care system, requiring the need for activation of the State’s decision-making framework. That framework includes a progression of conventional, contingency and crisis standards of care identifying strategies to be used depending on the situation and types of resource shortfalls being experienced,” the state health department said in its announcement.
Crisis standards of care are guidelines that can be used by health care providers during a disaster or public emergency when not enough resources are available to provide the normal standard.
According to DHHS, the decision to activate crisis standards of care was made by Alaska’s volunteer Crisis Care Committee. The crises that hospitals in Alaska are experiencing include: limited renal replacement therapy, limited oxygen supplies, limited hospital staff and difficulty in transferring patients from rural communities to hospitals.
“This activation was requested by the Crisis Care Committee so our health care providers could continue to provide the best medical care possible for Alaskans under good faith immunity,” DHHS commissioner Adam Crum said. “I want to stress that our health care facilities in Alaska remain open and able to care for patients.”
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Alaska allowing hospitals to ration care as virus cases surge https://t.co/uxlOBRY0a2 pic.twitter.com/bkQ4ljMSgT
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