密歇根新闻广播 密歇根州医生准备迎接艰难的对话和选择

 

With a surge of COVID-19 patients beginning at some hospitals here in Michigan, healthcare workers on the front lines of the outbreak may soon have to make some tough decisions about serving their patients, and protecting their co-workers, families, and themselves.

Dr. Rana Awdish is a pulmonologist at Henry Ford¹ Health System in Detroit. She's also the author of In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope.

Awdish says monitoring the outbreaks elsewhere has helped hospitals in Michigan.

"People saw what was coming in other cities and countries and really prepared. So, we we have deferred² any non-time-sensitive procedures. We have cleared entire wards³ to make room for COVID-19 positive and COVID rule-out patients," Awdish told Michigan Radio. "I feel very prepared. Although I don't think this is something you can ever be completely prepared for."

Preparing for a surge in coronavirus cases goes beyond more typical emergency-response planning. In part because there are fears that hospitals will run out of potentially life-saving ventilators, the medical community is also thinking about the ethical⁴ dilemmas⁵ that doctors could face. One scenario⁶ is rationing⁷ ventilators and making life-or-death choices about who gets them.

"There's a recognition that these decisions can't be improvised," Awdish said. "So groups of people are coming together – clinical ethicists, palliative care physicians, ER physicians, ICU physicians, administrators⁸ – to write guidelines. The New England Journal of Medicine published theirs for [resource] allocation. And it's really coming from an understanding that individual physicians should not be left alone to make decisions in a resource-constrained environment, that there has to be guidance."

Dr. Megan Bonanni says whenever she thought about working on a large-scale health crisis, her thoughts turned to mass casualties on a local level. She says that comes with her training. Bonanni is an ER physician with Munson Healthcare in Cadillac and Grayling.

"This is what I signed up for. I became a physician because I want to help people," Bonanni said. "In many ways, those of us that are on the front lines are very honored by all the support we're getting from the community and from our [hospital] administration and are really hoping that we can make a difference to get this disease to slow down and eventually stop."

The Munson Healthcare facilities where Bonanni works had not seen any confirmed coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, but as doctors prepare to treat patients, they're also preparing to become COVID-19 patients themselves. She says even considering that concept is tough.

"It is a terrifying idea to think that we will not be able to take care of the community and each other because in many ways, that's how we define who we are," she said. "You take that away from us, or even worse, you put us in a position where we feel as if we are adding to [the problem] or making someone ill or causing someone any suffering, it goes against every fiber⁹ of who we are and why we do what we do."

Detroit has been hit hard by coronavirus, with hundreds of cases so far. Awdish says her colleagues who have already worked with coronavirus patients have developed systems for how and where they remove clothes after a shift and how best to clean themselves before going into their own homes. Some are making plans to sleep in their garages or at motels to avoid spreading the virus to their families.

"There are single mothers who who worry about that in a different way. There are nursing mothers who have decided¹⁰ to stop nursing their children. Everyone is thinking about contingency¹¹ plans for their contingency plans," she said.

"They don't want to detract resources from their own patients. I have physicians who tell me that if they test positive, they will just stay home, that they won't come and take a ventilator, if we don't have enough. It's incredible. This profession and what it brings out in people. It's really humbling¹²."

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

3 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

4 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

5 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

8 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

9 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

12 humbling   

adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气

参考例句：

• A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
• It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网