Crisis Standards of Care for the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Essential Resource for the PALTC Community

In 2020, April was indeed the cruelest month for nursing homes. By the mid-month, more than 7000 residents and workers had died of the COVID-19 virus, with more than 36,500 people infected in 4100 facilities.1 Post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) providers were all involved in local and/or national discussions about best practices for managing an unprecedented crisis: How are you supplying your staff with PPE (personal protective equipment)? From where are you obtaining nurses? Are you using steroids or nebulizers? How are you isolating patients? It was a time of the unimaginable—unimaginable suffering for residents and families, unimaginable stress for all front-line workers, but also a time of great kinship and support from fellow PALTC providers.