How do these guidelines apply to persons on ventilators in chronic care facilities or the community setting?
These guidelines would apply only in an acute care setting (when patients are admitted to a hospital or treated in the emergency department). The guidelines would not cause patients in chronic care facilities to lose access to ventilators. If a ventilator-dependent individual required hospital care for an emergent medical condition, he/she would be evaluated based on the objective inclusion/exclusion criteria for ventilator allocation.
