EMS Rule: Flatlined Heart Patients Won't Go to NYC Hospitals

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In response to the crush of coronavirus cases overloading New York City's health system, cardiac patients who flatline during a call will no longer be rushed to the hospital for more treatment, according to a new mandate.

The directive was set up by the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York City, which oversees guidelines for both public and private EMS workers in the city, the New York Daily News reports. Previously, efforts to revive a patient would continue on the way to the hospital, even though such efforts to resuscitate at the hospital are rarely successful.

“It already happens today, but now we’re making it a rule,”  Dr. Josef Schenker, who chairs the council’s Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee, told the Daily News.

By eliminating these efforts, health officials hope to minimize the chances of potential risk of exposure to COVID-19 for EMS workers and their equipment. Exceptions can be made if first responders believe there is a danger or the threat of violence if they stop trying to revive a cardiac patient who is headed to the hospital.  

“Emergency departments are severely overcrowded and transporting patients pronounced on the scene only increases emergency departments workload and potentially exposes emergency department staff and patients to COVID-19,” the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council said in a statement.

Once resuscitation efforts have stopped, EMS workers should either call New York City police or the medical examiner's office to dispose of the body, the Daily News added.