Planning During the Pandemic
COVID-19 planning in the midst of this national care crisis may be quite different from what patients and families are used to. Here are some of the unfamiliar circumstances that many individuals and families have been experiencing as part of this pandemic:
• You may not be able to talk to your regular doctor in person, only by phone
• Many people are getting very sick and going to the hospital
If you need to go to the hospital:
o Your family may not be allowed to visit you
o You may be taken to a different hospital than where you usually get your care
• Some people with COVID-19 may get so sick they need a breathing machine (ventilator), possibly for many weeks in the ICU
o They cannot talk when on the machine
o Even with a breathing machine, many people will not survive
o For people who survive, their health, physical function and quality of life may never be the same as it was before the illness happened