Who Lives? Who Dies? NYC Hospitals Could Soon Be Forced to Triage Coronavirus Patients

New York hospitals may soon need to apply state ventilator allocation guidelines to decide which COVID-19 patients receive treatment and which do not, according to Dr. Craig Smith, chair of Columbia University’s department of surgery. Speaking as field hospitals are built in Central Park and as capacity increases with USNS Comfort, the Javits Center and other pop-up facilities, NewYork-Presbyterian plans to expand ICU beds from about 400 to 1,000 over the next few weeks. Smith said triage could become a “fundamental operating principle” once the new beds fill. Under the 2015 New York Department of Health framework, triage officers or committees—rather than attending physicians—would decide ventilator access, with life-saving priorities and tie-breaker protocols.