Abstract

The initial surge of COVID19 patients in New York, created a surge of unprecedented numbers in the largest integrated hospital system of the New York City and surrounding Long Island region. Due to innovation and clinician ingenuity ventilator allocation was going to have an easier solution than alleviating the moral distress of overworked and understaffed clinicians. Through the innovative work of clinicians, leadership and the leadership of Governor Cuomo and hospital executives, the need for triaging ventilators did not become a reality. Yet the need for ethicists to support and aid clinicians in the discernment and need for escalation for scarce ICU resources and personnel was key. The transition from an allocation strategy of ventilators organically occurred as rapidly as the surge of COVID19 as it became clear that addressing clinician distress was imperative to maintain the level of human capital. An allocation strategy was envisioned that would assess the urgency of need for intensive care resources utilizing established decision aid calculators. In a mixed method quantitative and qualitative review, this article utilizes descriptive data to illustrate the lessons learned from utilizing ethics consultants to review pandemic decision making and alleviate clinician moral distress.