Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday he does not want the increasingly severe COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona to ever reach a point where providers must choose one patient's life over another.
During a visit to Phoenix, Pence said no American who has required a ventilator during the pandemic has been denied one and he wants to keep it that way in Arizona and the rest of the United States.
“We don’t ever want any health care provider making a decision about who gets health care and who doesn’t. This is America," he said.
"We're going to make sure Arizona has whatever it takes. ... We're going to make sure every Arizonan impacted by the coronavirus has the health care that we would want any member of our family to have."
His comments came two days after Dr. Cara Christ, the Arizona Department of Health Services director, declared that hospitals in the state could activate "crisis care standards," which guide the allocation of scarce resources to patients based on factors such as their likelihood for survival.
Under Arizona's current Crisis Standards of Care document, patients would be given scores based on a range of criteria and ranked for highest, intermediate and lowest priority for critical care resources.
The number of patients hospitalized for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 in Arizona has continued to climb over recent weeks and on Tuesday reached its highest reported level since the state began reporting the data in early April.
The rise in cases has left health providers in the state worried about the supply of ICU beds and a shortage of staff needed to care for the patients in those beds.
Banner Health, which is Arizona's largest health system, has already been making changes to accommodate a surge in patients, including putting two patients in rooms that are usually for one, and bringing in outside labor.
Earlier this week, a petition signed by more than 1,000 Arizona medical providers asked state leaders to allow hospitals to activate "crisis care standards" because the health care system has become overly stressed.
"What pains us most is that this was avoidable," the petition says.
'Dramatic rise in cases' prompted AZ visit
Standing outside on a tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport by the runway where he arrived on Air Force Two at 11:34 a.m., Pence told reporters that he decided to visit Arizona at the request of President Donald Trump because of a "dramatic rise" in both confirmed cases and the percent of positive cases here.
Pence said he planned to meet a request from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey for 500 medical personnel to help meet needs during the pandemic, above and beyond the 62 personnel who were sent to work in Arizona this week, he said.
"We want to say to all the incredible health care workers here in Arizona, help is on the way," Pence said. "We're going to spare no expense to provide the kind of reinforcements that you will need all across this state should this coronavirus pandemic continue to expand."
His purpose in visiting Phoenix was "to get a report from the ground," and "take back what we heard here today," he said.
"I'm a real believer, as President Trump is, in sitting down with the people that are leading the effort," he said. "I was in Texas over the weekend. I'll be in Florida tomorrow. We are absolutely determined that Arizona and its health care workers have the resources and supplies and equipment they need."
Pence praised Ducey for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for having a "seamless" partnership with the Trump administration and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. He said Arizona began as a model state that initially succeeded in flattening the curve, and then, "something changed about the middle of May."
Ducey's executive stay-at-home order expired on May 15. In light of the spike of cases, Ducey this week reinstated some restrictions, including ordering the closure of gyms, bars, movie theaters, water parks and tubing for a month, though he did not fully reinstate the stay-at-home order.
'I couldn't be more proud'
Pence said Ducey's request for 500 extra medical personnel had come within the last 24 hours and that he'd be moving on the request "very quickly."
Whether it be New York, Louisiana or elsewhere, Trump has been deploying active duty medical personnel to areas in need throughout the pandemic, Pence said.
"They'll be packing up and moving out because we want the incredible health care workers here in Arizona to know that help is on the way and we'll be detailing that to the governor in the next couple of days," he said.
At this time, hospitals in Arizona have requested 152 health care personnel to assist hospitals in Pima, Navajo, Maricopa and Yuma counties, Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak wrote in an email after Pence's visit.
"We’ve requested up to 500 personnel from the federal government, if needed," he said.
Those medical providers represent ICU nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory health technicians, behavioral health technicians, medical lab technicians and an intensivist, which is a critical care physician, Ptak wrote.
Among those who joined Pence on the tarmac were Ducey, Christ, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx and Major Gen. Michael McGuire, who is Arizona's adjutant general.
Birx said she had spent the past few days meeting with health and community leaders from across Arizona and was impressed by how many people she has seen wearing masks.
"Messages have to translate into the very fabric of our communities. ... Words that aren't translated into actions will not stop this virus, but I am encouraged and I am hopeful," she said.
"We know we can stop the spread by utilizing masks and making these small adjustments into our lifestyle that show respect for one another."
As of Wednesday, 10.6 million cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed worldwide, including 2.7 million in the U.S. and 84,092 in Arizona, data from Johns Hopkins University and the Arizona Department of Health Services shows.
The known death toll in Arizona was 1,720 as of Wednesday. Worldwide the death toll was 514,697, including 128,028 in the U.S. — higher than the death toll of any other country.
"I couldn't be more proud of our nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic," Pence said. "I think the American people understand that this is an unprecedented moment, but President Trump has brought unprecedented leadership and we've spared no expense."
Arizona Republic reporter Andrew Oxford contributed to this report.
Reach health care reporter Stephanie Innes at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes
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'We're going to make sure Arizona has whatever it takes': Pence does not want health care rationed amid COVID-19 crisis - AZCentral
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