Evaluating Factors to Consider in Ventilation of Patients in Hospitals

Module 6 Discussion
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name and Number
Lecturer’s Name
Assignment Due Date
Module 6 Discussion
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many areas of the country had concerns about obtaining enough ventilators for patients. Factors a hospital should consider regarding which patients would receive ventilator treatment if not enough ventilators are available include age, pregnancy, health problems, and cognitive abilities (Baker & Fink, The New York Times, 2020). These factors are based on the fundamental principle that if the ventilators are not enough, priority should be given to people at high risk of dying if they do not get the ventilator and are highly likely to survive if put on these life-saving machines.
Age
Age is one of the significant factors hospitals should use to determine those who get ventilators during a shortage. For example, suppose two patients of different ages have same estimated survivability. In that case, the scoring protocols should give younger people better odds of getting ventilators, while patients older than 85 should be given lower priority (Khimm, NBC News, 2020).
Pregnancy
Hospitals should also use pregnancy as a tiebreaker when...