Ethics Committee

Making decisions about your healthcare or a loved one’s healthcare can be difficult at times. Assistance is provided to you and your family in understanding what you are facing with your medical care needs. The CalvertHealth Medical Center Ethics Committee is available to patients, their families and staff when decisions about healthcare choices are difficult to make. The purpose of the committee is to provide a forum for communication between patients/families and healthcare providers.

The committee is comprised of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, chaplain, patient advocate, community members and others. These individuals assist with understanding complex medical situations and the healthcare interventions being considered. The committee makes recommendations to the treatment team, patient and families, which may assist in developing the patient’s further plan of care. Practice standards, ethics, and legal requirements are discussed, as the committee focuses on the goal of “doing what’s best for the patient”.

Some examples of patient care situations brought to the Ethics Committee for assistance with decision-making include, but are not limited to:

• Patient with advanced dementia, unable to communicate or eat food by mouth for whom the option of placing a feeding tube is being discussed.
• Patient seriously injured in a car accident is in a coma and needing mechanical support for breathing, and is showing no signs of recovery.
• Family of developmentally disabled patient with conflict between values or religious beliefs and the recommended course of treatment.
• Family members in conflict among themselves concerning the recommended treatment.
• Ethics consult contact: Integrated Care Management Department at 410.414.4858 or 410.535.8217

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