Thank you very much.
With respect to a couple of items that have been raised, the intent behind this is to deal with critically ill individuals, particularly children. The difference between “critically ill” versus “disabled” is very clearly defined for those of us in the health care profession. I deal with many critically ill children as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. They come through the emergency department having been in car accidents and such.
We heard of the critically ill child who has cancer. It's very different from the patient population with cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. I think we have to be very clear with respect to the definition of “critically ill” versus “disabled”.
The second component with respect to age is that age is clearly outlined. In the United Nations charter, a “child” is age 18 and under. In this country, children are clearly outlined at children's' hospitals. We have those clear definitions, mainly because children are different. For example, in my subspecialty, children's bones are very different from adult bones. The last thing you want is to be brought to me at the hospital as an adult, because I'm actually not the best person to take care of you. Adults and children have very different physiology, and adults and children are treated in a very different manner. We want to make sure that we're clear about that for health care professionals who will be making these assessments, and also for individuals who require critical care. The age definition has been clearly outlined by the United Nations as well as pediatricians across this country.
Thank you.