Complexities of Corona Virus Disease-19: The Role of Palliative Care at a Veterans Affairs Hospital.

ABSTRACT

The Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic accentuated the need for delivery of quality palliative care. We share the experience of our acute care hospital palliative care team in caring for veteran patients who died from COVID-19 and provide recommendations for palliative care teams caring for older adult populations. We conducted a retrospective chart review on 33 patients to gather characteristics data and delineate palliative care team involvement in their clinical courses. Our palliative care team participated in the care of 87.9% of patients who died from COVID-19. They were medically and psychosocially complex with 75.8% carrying at least four medical comorbidities, 87.8% presenting from an institutional facility, and 39.4% diagnosed with at least one psychiatric condition. Our results emphasize the impact of this pandemic on vulnerable populations and highlight the benefits of palliative care for support of patients, their loved ones, and the clinical teams caring for them.