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Latest report on pandemics causes concern
by Midland Reporter-Telegram
There is something about the word "pandemic" that sends shivers up the spine. First, if you reach a pandemic situation, you know things are not going well.
And we suppose you have to plan for such events. After all, you don't want to be caught off guard if your world suddenly turns sour. Good planning possibly can save millions of lives during a pandemic event.
Still, we were a little disturbed recently when a report was released on a flu pandemic or other disaster. The work was done by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The proposed guidelines are designed to be a blueprint for hospitals "so that everybody will be thinking in the same way" when pandemic flu or another widespread health care disaster hits.
This is good planning, but one part of the designed plan can make you more than a little nervous. For instance, doctors say some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. They also say gut-wrenching dilemmas will be created on deciding who to let die. The doctors say it is better to pre-decide those decisions than to have to make them on the spot.
The idea is to try to make sure scarce resources, including ventilators, medicine and doctors and nurses, are used in a uniform, objective way.
"If a mass casualty critical care event were to occur tomorrow, many people with clinical conditions that are survivable under usual health care system conditions may have to forgo life-sustaining interventions owing to deficiencies in supply or staffing," the report states.
The report suggests hospitals should designate a triage team with the God-like task of deciding who will and who won't get lifesaving care. Those out of luck are the people at high risk of death and a slim chance of long-term survival. But the recommendations get much more specific.
People older than 85, those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings, severely burned patients older than 60, those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease and those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes should not get aid if life and death decisions have to be made.
While health care rationing will be necessary in a mass disaster, there remain some real ethical concerns. In our whole human history, we have discouraged individuals from playing God, yet in a lethal pandemic situation, every decision has a God-like tone to it.
That's scary -- real scary.
And we suppose you have to plan for such events. After all, you don't want to be caught off guard if your world suddenly turns sour. Good planning possibly can save millions of lives during a pandemic event.
Still, we were a little disturbed recently when a report was released on a flu pandemic or other disaster. The work was done by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The proposed guidelines are designed to be a blueprint for hospitals "so that everybody will be thinking in the same way" when pandemic flu or another widespread health care disaster hits.
This is good planning, but one part of the designed plan can make you more than a little nervous. For instance, doctors say some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. They also say gut-wrenching dilemmas will be created on deciding who to let die. The doctors say it is better to pre-decide those decisions than to have to make them on the spot.
The idea is to try to make sure scarce resources, including ventilators, medicine and doctors and nurses, are used in a uniform, objective way.
"If a mass casualty critical care event were to occur tomorrow, many people with clinical conditions that are survivable under usual health care system conditions may have to forgo life-sustaining interventions owing to deficiencies in supply or staffing," the report states.
The report suggests hospitals should designate a triage team with the God-like task of deciding who will and who won't get lifesaving care. Those out of luck are the people at high risk of death and a slim chance of long-term survival. But the recommendations get much more specific.
People older than 85, those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings, severely burned patients older than 60, those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease and those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes should not get aid if life and death decisions have to be made.
While health care rationing will be necessary in a mass disaster, there remain some real ethical concerns. In our whole human history, we have discouraged individuals from playing God, yet in a lethal pandemic situation, every decision has a God-like tone to it.
That's scary -- real scary.
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of mywesttexas.com.
the-eurasianearthlink.net wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:20 AM:
" You say, "MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD".
But when I put posts here in Kathleen Thurber's articles demanding Midland Reporter Telegam reporters to force these government officials to come here and dialog with eurasian so taxes squandered by government officials can be used to solve problems such as these pedestrian and bicycle accidents on the road, you don't print them but censor them? Why? Then on the article is a notice which says "no comments have been posted" when the fact is I posted comments --- only you did not like my comments and so did not print them!!!
For example 7/23 I put a comment in Kathleen Thurbers article. After only a short time, it was pushed out of the Top News menu despite 22 articles in the Top News menu. 7/24 on the same pedestrian killed by drunk driver, Kathleen Thurber made 2 articles. Both articles, I posted comments demanding these officials come here so we can solve these problems. We are now 7/25 and my 7/24 comments have not been printed despite me posting those 7/24 comments just soon after Kathleen Thurber posted her 7/24 threads. Today also I posted a comment on one of the 7/25 threads on this same topic. It is now 11:16 AM 7/25 and all articles of Kathleen Thurber and Mrt in the menu of Top News say "no comments have been posted".
Your words say one thing. But in your actions, you do another. "
But when I put posts here in Kathleen Thurber's articles demanding Midland Reporter Telegam reporters to force these government officials to come here and dialog with eurasian so taxes squandered by government officials can be used to solve problems such as these pedestrian and bicycle accidents on the road, you don't print them but censor them? Why? Then on the article is a notice which says "no comments have been posted" when the fact is I posted comments --- only you did not like my comments and so did not print them!!!
For example 7/23 I put a comment in Kathleen Thurbers article. After only a short time, it was pushed out of the Top News menu despite 22 articles in the Top News menu. 7/24 on the same pedestrian killed by drunk driver, Kathleen Thurber made 2 articles. Both articles, I posted comments demanding these officials come here so we can solve these problems. We are now 7/25 and my 7/24 comments have not been printed despite me posting those 7/24 comments just soon after Kathleen Thurber posted her 7/24 threads. Today also I posted a comment on one of the 7/25 threads on this same topic. It is now 11:16 AM 7/25 and all articles of Kathleen Thurber and Mrt in the menu of Top News say "no comments have been posted".
Your words say one thing. But in your actions, you do another. "
mr t wrote on Jul 25, 2008 12:37 PM:
" The mOTTo at this waste of pulp is the antithesis of the editor's headline. "
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Dreamer wrote on May 20, 2008 9:57 AM: