Crisis Service Design

Operational tools for palliative care service design and delivery during a crisis
Specialty Palliative Care: COVID Crisis Service Design

Flowchart with service recommendations by setting and patient/clinician need, and tools for palliative care teams to provide support to colleagues across the organization. Note: All clinicians should check with their institution’s legal counsel to ensure compliance with federal and state laws as well as institutional protocols.

Preparing for COVID-19: Readiness Protocol for Palliative Care Teams

Steps to prepare for COVID-19, including team deployment, telehealth setup, and considerations by care setting.

Palliative Care Referral Criteria: COVID-19 Context

Guidance on when to refer patients with COVID-19 or pre-existing serious illnesses for specialty palliative care.

Sample Palliative Care Consult Guidance (COVID-19)

Sample handout for front line clinicians with phone number and criteria for palliative care tele-consult. Shared by the Mount Sinai Health System.

NEJM Catalyst Collection - COVID-19: Managing the Surge

NEJM collection with actionable models for organizations, including topics such as a palliative care hotline, outreach to high-risk patients, equity in telehealth, and clinician well-being.

Comfort Pack Info Sheet for Patients: Sample

Example reference sheet for patients on how and when to use in-home comfort pack medications to manage symptoms.

Setting Up a Palliative Care Hotline for Your Hospital or System

Covers hotline service design, staffing and workflow, and considerations if incorporating external palliative care clinicians to staff the hotline.

Fast Five: All In – Using the Full Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) During a Crisis

5-minute video with strategies for using all members of the IDT during the COVID-19 crisis, drawing from interviews with programs across the country. Speaker: Constance Dahlin, MSN, ANC-BC, ACHPN, Consultant to the Center to Advance Palliative Care.

Using the Full Interdisciplinary Team During Crisis

Three steps for making the best use of the IDT, and sample roles for social workers, chaplains, pharmacists and administrators.

Fast Five: Tips for Using Telechaplaincy to Bring Comfort and Presence

5-minute video with technical and clinical tips for having an authentic presence and bringing comfort to patients, family caregivers, and colleagues during a time of physical distancing. Presented by Rabbi Edie Meyerson, Associate Director for Pastoral Counseling and Bereavement Services for the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Resources on Telechaplaincy

Information from the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab on planning, staffing, and delivering telechaplaincy services.

Discipline-Specific COVID-19 Resources

A list of COVID-19 resources for specific disciplines, including nurses, social workers, and chaplains.

Sample Decision Tree: Palliative Care Service Delivery in COVID-19

In-person and telephone palliative care triage guidelines for all care settings. Shared by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation/Sutter Health, March 16, 2020.

UW Medicine COVID-19 Resource Site

Public policies, protocols, and flow diagrams developed at the University of Washington in response to the COVID-19 epidemic.

COVID-19 Resources for Specific Patient Populations

Information and helpful links for patients and families regarding COVID-19 in the context of specific underlying diseases.

Patient Care Strategies for Scarce Resource Situations

Minnesota Department of Health guidance including staffing, medication administration, and other clinical care issues impacted by resource-scarce conditions of crisis.

Responding to Covid-19 as a Regional Public Health Challenge: Preliminary Guidelines for Regional Collaboration Involving Hospitals

Highlights potential ethical concerns for a regional public health COVID-19 response, and provides guidance on supporting collaboration across institutions throughout pandemic response and recovery.

Ethical Framework for Health Care Institutions Responding to Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

Guidelines from The Hastings Center for Institutional Ethics Services Responding to COVID-19: Managing Uncertainty, Safeguarding Communities, Guiding Practice. March 16, 2020.

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