Oregon hospitals have created new interim guidance to help them determine which patients should get lifesaving if the current COVID-19 surge forces them to choose between people due to a lack of beds, staff or critical medical equipment care.

The guidance will only work if hospitals have exhausted all other options for treating each patient, including transferring to other facilities, deferring non-urgent surgeries and care, stocking up on supplies, and repurposing existing beds and spaces for intensive care patients.

The new policy comes as Oregon faces a wave of highly contagious but milder variants of COVID-19 omicron. The state has repeatedly set new records for new cases of COVID-19 over the past week and Thursday, and state health authorities said hospitalizations were up 12 percent from the previous day.

The Oregon Department of Health said there are only 42 adult ICU beds available, and 95 percent of the state’s adult non-ICU beds are full. Gov. Kate Brown announced Friday that she will deploy as many as 500 members of the Oregon National Guard to hospitals to help, with the first 125 members arriving next week at some of the hardest-hit hospitals.

“Now, we want to put a triage tool in the hands of clinicians who may face very difficult decisions in the coming weeks as Omicron variants take their toll and hospitalize more patients,” said OHA’s Dana Hargunani. Chief medical officer.

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“This ad hoc tool isn’t perfect, but it ensures clinicians face these harrowing decisions with confidence that the standards they use are firmly rooted in Oregon’s values ??of nondiscrimination and health equity.”

The agency acknowledged that the surge in omicron cases “did not have time to engage the strong, comprehensive and fully inclusive community and clinicians needed” and that the interim criteria were “imperfect.” In the preamble to the guidance, OHA said a new committee will be formed this winter that will review the policy and make changes and additions as needed.

These standards are based on standards developed in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Washington during the COVID-19 pandemic. They replace previous rules that were repealed following a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the Oregon disability rights advocacy group, alleging they discriminate against older adults, people with disabilities and people with serious medical conditions.

The guideline directs hospitals to rank patients by assessing their likelihood of short-term survival without judging their overall quality of life or long-term survival prior to their current disease.

In a relationship between two patients who need the same resources, those who have already been treated will continue to get it unless their condition worsens. In a link between two patients with similar conditions at the same time, the hospital will use a blind map to decide who gets treatment.

Unlike other states, Oregon’s standards do not prioritize lifesaving care for any particular population. For example, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that other states offer more points to pregnant women, those under 18, healthcare workers or single parents.

Previous criteria allowed hospitals to exclude certain people from intensive care during a crisis, such as those with certain cancers or other serious medical conditions.

Oregon hospitals can set their own standards of crisis care, but must adhere to the state’s standards.