I was surprised to hear this since I know the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division has identifed older adults as a special or vulnerable population. They want to ensure that we reach that population with information on how to prepare for a pandemic.
Looking a little further, I realize these comments came from the recent media stories about developing a list of who will and who won’t get lifesaving care when resources are limited. At the top if the list appears “people older than 85.” What also stands out are those with "severe mental impairment" (like Alzheimer’s disease), and those with severe chronic disease. So that does sound like older adults.
This brings up the question of what are the rules for “playing God.”
Did anyone else have to read in high school the short story The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson? That story has haunted me ever since 10th grade.
Through the miracle of the web, you can read the story at http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lotry.html.
I don’t want to give away the ending, but this group of citizens has their set of rules that works perfectly, as long as everyone agrees to the whole system.
Since I also work in Injury Prevention, this discussion got me thinking about how we can use this to motivate people to wear seatbelts.
What about this for a media message:
“Did you know that if a pandemic flu or other public health
emergency hits, the hospitals may decide not to treat patients with severe trauma? This could mean you, if you don’t wear your seatbelt. So buckle up!”
Hmmmm.
Likewise, we all need to stay as healthy as possible so we won’t be one of those with a severe chronic disease who is passed over in the hospital.
I know it’s better to be thinking about these things now, but I don’t envy those folks who are actually working on this task force.
What do you think?
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