New Hastings Ethics Framework Guides Health Care Professionals Responding to Coronavirus

The Hastings Center has developed a resource for health care institutions and institutional ethics services to support leadership and practice during the novel coronavirus public health emergency and in the care of patients with COVID-19. Hastings convened an expert advisory group to meet the need for a practical resource to support institutional preparedness and supplement public health and clinical practice guidance on the coronavirus. “Shortages of staff, space, and stuff may lead to care restrictions, including but not limited to which patients are admitted to the ICU and receive life-sustaining treatments,” says research scholar Nancy Berlinger. “'First come, first served' is an unsatisfactory approach to allocating critical resources, yet it is difficult and distressing for clinicians accustomed to patient-centered care to change practice during a public health emergency. Our resource aims to help health care leaders and the health care workforce manage the unavoidable tension between the duty of care and duties to public health.” Berlinger directed the rapid-response project, which was made possible by the Donaghue Impact Fund at The Hastings Center.  Read more. The resource is available for free on The Hastings Center’s website.

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Visit The Hastings Center's COVID-19 Ethics Resource Center

Pandemics inevitably raise ethics concerns; vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected, and control measures such as closing schools and limiting public gatherings balance individual liberties against the public welfare. These issues are explored in Hastings Center publications and other key resources on our new COVID-19 ethics hub. In addition to our new ethics guidelines for health care professionals (above), there are essays from our blog, Hastings Bioethics Forum; a chapter on pandemic planning from our Bioethics Briefings book; and articles from our archives about Ebola for the lessons they provide. A section of additional resources moves beyond our own publications to provide information we think everyone should know about, including from WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Academy of Medicine, and the U.K.’s Nuffield Council. We will update the resources as conditions evolve. Visit our COVID-19 ethics hub.

The Hastings Center's Work Update

The Hastings Center remains open and working full time, but the staff is working remotely, following social distancing guidance issued by the federal, state, and local governments. We don’t expect to resume regular onsite business for several weeks. Anyone needing to contact us can still do so via phone and email during regular business hours. Our meetings will take place by phone or via web conference. If you planned to attend a meeting we are hosting, please stay tuned for updated information.