“Triage Officers” To Decide Who Gets Care If Hospitals Get Overwhelmed

(Los Angeles, CA) — L.A. County hospitals are preparing to ration treatment if they reach their breaking point, and that includes putting into play “triage officers.” Triage officers would decide which patients would benefit from treatment and which are beyond saving. The county’s top health officials would have to declare the situation a crisis before the rationing system was put into place. But according to a letter from the hospitals to The L.A. Times, there will likely come a time when hospitals don’t have the staffing or supplies to render the highest level of care to all patients.