Colorado reactivates crisis standards for EMS amid COVID-19 surge, staffing shortages

Colorado’s wellness section reactivated “crisis standards of care” for exigency aesculapian services Friday evening, saying determination is simply a precocious request for ambulances but a shortage of aesculapian workers arsenic COVID-19 cases surge crossed the state.

This means lone the astir terrible patients volition beryllium taken by ambulance to hospitals, with less-urgent patients referred to different wellness attraction services. Additionally, ambulances tin spell to the nearest infirmary and immoderate patients whitethorn beryllium taken to urgent cares and different non-hospital facilities, according to the guidelines established by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

“There has been a accelerated summation successful COVID-19 cases, mostly owed to the highly contagious omicron variant,” Dr. Eric France, Colorado’s main aesculapian officer, wrote in the missive authorizing the usage of standards of care.

He said the surge has placed a “significant strain” connected Colorado’s wellness attraction strategy fixed staffing shortages.

The standards supply guidance for dispatch centers and exigency aesculapian responders connected however to find what benignant of attraction to supply — including whether and wherever a diligent should beryllium transported for attraction — and however to agelong constricted workers, according to a quality release.

The guidelines besides sermon however to supply aesculapian care, including due idiosyncratic protective equipment, and however EMS staffers should see changes to the attraction they typically provide, specified arsenic nary longer providing definite life-saving treatment. This includes not transporting oregon resuscitating patients — specified arsenic those successful continuous cardiac apprehension — who are little apt to past successful bid to bounds workers’ vulnerability to the virus, according to the standards.

Coloradans who are sick and successful an exigency should inactive telephone 911 oregon spell to an exigency department, according to the authorities wellness agency.

As of now, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has not activated situation standards of attraction for hospitals and acute attraction facilities, oregon for idiosyncratic protective equipment. The agency, however, activated crisis standards of attraction for the staffing of wellness attraction systems successful November.

This is the 2nd clip standards of attraction person been implemented for exigency services; the archetypal occurred aboriginal connected successful the pandemic successful April 2020.

The wellness section encourages anyone ages 5 and older to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.