Medical Community, State Leaders, Manufacturers Raise Alarm Over Ventilator Shortage as Bombshell Report Shows Trump Dropped the Ball
BOMBSHELL NYT PIECE: “If the administration had reacted to the ventilator shortage in February, a private sector effort starting now might have made lifesaving equipment in mid- to late April. Now it is unlikely to be before June.”
As a result of Trump’s inaction, hospitals have started to run out of equipment they need to save lives, and their situations will only get worse in the coming weeks and months.
Here’s a look at what hospitals, members of the medical community, and state leaders are saying:
New England Journal Of Medicine On Lack Of Ventilators: “In The Weeks Ahead, Physicians In The United States May Be Asked To Make Decisions That They Have Never Before Had To Face, And For Which Many Of Them Will Not Be Prepared.”
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“Although shortages of other goods and services may lead to deaths, in most cases it will be the combined effects of a variety of shortages that will result in worse outcomes. Mechanical ventilation is different. When patients’ breathing deteriorates to the point that they need a ventilator, there is typically only a limited window during which they can be saved. And when the machine is withdrawn from patients who are fully ventilator-dependent, they will usually die within minutes. Unlike decisions regarding other forms of life-sustaining treatment, the decision about initiating or terminating mechanical ventilation is often truly a life-or-death choice.” [New England Journal of Medicine, 3/23/20]
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“In the weeks ahead, physicians in the United States may be asked to make decisions that they have never before had to face, and for which many of them will not be prepared. Though some people may denounce triage committees as ‘death panels,’ in fact they would be just the opposite — their goal would be to save the most lives possible in a time of unprecedented crisis.” [New England Journal of Medicine, 3/23/20]
Former Under Secretary Of Defense For Acquisition, Technology, And Logistics Frank Kendall Said Of Ventilator Shortages: “This Is A National Crisis…In A Time Of Scarcity, You Can’t Leave It Up To Companies And Governors To Manage It Themselves.”
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“What is really needed, a number of public health experts and former government officials say, is for Washington to take control of the nation’s existing ventilator supply. Because peak coronavirus infections will hit cities and regions at different times in the coming months, a centralized federal effort could send unused machines to hospitals that need them most. ‘This is a national crisis,’ said Frank Kendall, who served as under secretary of defense for acquisition and logistics in the Obama administration. ‘In a time of scarcity, you can’t leave it up to companies and governors to manage it themselves.’ Mr. Kendall said that only the federal government had the authority to take over the allocation of ventilators, both from manufacturers who are in the business of selling devices to the highest bidder, and state leaders unlikely to voluntarily let go of machines they fear they might need in the future.” [New York Times, 3/25/20]
Providence St. Joseph Health President Rhonda Medows Is Considering Requesting Veterinary Ventilators Designed For Large Animals Because They Don’t Have Enough Designed For Humans.
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Rhonda Medows, president of population health management at Providence St. Joseph Health, a chain of hospitals and clinics based in Seattle that spans seven states, said her health system is considering requesting veterinary ventilators used to treat large animals because it is concerned that it will not have enough ventilators designed for humans. ‘We have Third World countries who are better equipped than we are now in Seattle,’ she said in an interview. ‘For weeks we have been asking the federal government to compel manufacturers to produce more [personal protective equipment] because we knew from our own modeling that there would be a serious shortfall.’” [Washington Post, 3/24/20]
Governor Andrew Cuomo Said New York Was Considering Experimental Options Like Sharing Ventilators To Deal With The Shortage: “Picture Two Hospital Beds, Two People In Beds, One Ventilator Between The Two Of Them.”
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“’We’re going so far as to trying an experimental procedure where we split the ventilator, we use one ventilator for two patients,’ Cuomo said on Tuesday. ‘It’s difficult to perform, it’s experimental, but at this point we have no alternatives, so we’re working on this experimental application. Picture two hospital beds, two people in beds, one ventilator between the two of them, but with two sets of tubes, two sets of pipes, going to the two patients.’” [Business Insider, 3/24/20]
Governor Andrew Cuomo: “You Want A Pat On The Back For Sending 400 Ventilators? What Are We Going To Do With 400 Ventilators When We Need 30,000 Ventilators?”
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“FEMA is sending us 400 ventilators. I saw it on the news this morning. ‘We are sending 400 ventilators to New York.’ 400 ventilators? I need 30,000 ventilators,” Cuomo said. “You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators? What are we going to do with 400 ventilators when we need 30,000 ventilators? You’re missing the magnitude of the problem, and the problem is defined by the magnitude.” [CNN, 3/24/20]
Governor Larry Hogan Said That While His State Received Ventilators From FEMA, “It Was Not The Amount That We Requested And Not Enough.”
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“Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Wednesday that his state has not received enough ventilators or coronavirus test kits from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. ‘The good news is, I think in part of our package we received from FEMA, perhaps yesterday, we did have a delivery of ventilators,’ Mr. Hogan said. ‘It was not the amount that we requested and not enough, but we appreciate them and will be distributing some of them out to our hospitals.’” [Washington Times, 3/25/20]
“Well I Have 14 Beds And Three Ventilators”: Nantucket Cottage Hospital CEO Gary Shaw Braces For An Estimated 350 Patients Who Would Require Hospitalization.
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“Stahl is precisely the kind of person who most needs to avoid contracting covid-19. She calls herself a ‘triple-threat’: She’s a diabetic with Stage 4 colorectal cancer in the lungs, currently undergoing her third round of chemotherapy. She also lives in a ‘medical desert,’ according to Nantucket Cottage Hospital CEO Gary Shaw. The first confirmed case of coronavirus on the island was announced Sunday, and more will likely follow. With 17,000 year-round residents, Shaw estimates the island could eventually have as many as 1,700 infected patients, 350 of whom would require hospitalization. ‘Well I have 14 beds and three ventilators,’ said Shaw. The hospital also has a shortage of doctors, and no intensive care units. ‘It’s straight math.’” [Washington Post, “The Lilly,” 3/23/20]