At the start of the pandemic, I worked as a nurse case manager for a large Maryland medical system. I saw numerous patients discharged, still sick with COVID, lacking adequate planning. They had ineffective treatments and no home support. By fall 2021, I resigned. I could no longer take part in what I considered to be unethical care. For the next two years, I collaborated daily with medical professionals nationwide to help those affected by COVID access treatments community and hospital physicians were denying.
In the hospital cases I supported, patients were offered remdesivir and a ventilator as their only treatment option. Because there were no meaningful discussions about alternative treatments, patients and families would contact me for education and support. Once fully informed, hospitalized patients would often choose to pursue alternative options over the hospital protocol. Two patients of mine show why informed choice matters so critically.