Preparing for the COVID-19 Surge

April 6, 2020

In recent days, Governor J.B. Pritzker and other officials have said that various models indicate that the peak surge of COVID-19 cases in the Chicago area will occur in mid-to-late April.  IHA continues to work closely with state and local officials and agencies to help coordinate the hospital community’s planning and response with the State and the City of Chicago to the expected surge.  IHA is actively advocating for the Governor’s Office and Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) to issue statewide guidance on Crisis Standards of Care.

Meanwhile, hospitals are urged to continue their planning and efforts to increase their surge capacity, as well as to engage their ethical teams/councils to discuss and consider Crisis Standards of Care.  See an IDPH planning document, “Catastrophic Incident Response Annex,” which includes information about Crisis Standards of Care.