Colorado has activated the portion of its crisis standards of care plan that deals with staffing health care systems.
DENVER — Colorado has activated the portion of its crisis standards of care (CSC) plan that deals with staffing health care systems.
The move allows hospitals to prioritize staff for emergencies and reduce the level of care provided for non-emergencies.
The state said these standards do not impact anyone’s access to acute emergency treatment, and they continue to encourage anyone who needs it to seek medical care.
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Individual health care systems must notify the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) when they activate and deactivate crisis standards of care for staffing.
The CSC allows hospitals to take steps to alleviate burnout, including minimizing meetings and relieving administrative responsibilities, reducing documentation requirements for health care workers, and adjusting staff schedules.
The state said under the CSC, hospital staff will receive cross-training, and healthcare workers can participate in other training to take over positions.
The state said while there has not been a statewide pause on elective procedures, individual hospitals can choose to pause these procedures in order to reassign staff.
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The state is not activating the portions of the crisis standards of care that deal with emergency medical services, hospital and acute care facilities, out-of-hospital care providers, specialty patient populations, or personal protective equipment.
Colorado has activated a portion of the crisis standards of care plan at least once since it was implemented in April 2020. On April 7, 2020, the state activated the portion that deals with personal protective equipment. That CSC was deactivated on June 30, 2021.
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