As hospitals across the country report a shortage of ventilators for patients fighting COVID-19, officials at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital said their ventilator supply is meeting the demand so far.
Currently, the hospital could put as many as 46 people on a ventilator, though another 50 have been ordered.
Of those 46, 24 are full-time ventilators and the rest are anesthesia machines that can be used as alternative ventilators.
“There’s a lot of things we can do to prevent ventilators from having to be used and to prevent [our supply from running low],” said OH Chief Medical Officer Francis DuFrayne. “With the flip of a switch, our anesthesia machines, which we use during surgical procedures, can operate as full-time ventilators and breathe for the patients.”
Right now, there are seven OHRH patients using ventilators — though only two are patients having tested positive for COVID-19. DuFrayne and Vice President of Medical Affairs Michael Kelley said ventilators are currently still available for those coming out of operating rooms, suffering from pneumonia or facing other health issues.
According to DuFrayne, even if a patient with COVID-19 does need additional care from the hospital, the majority of them won’t need a ventilator.
Right now, the focus at OHRH is to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Part of that preparation includes getting the necessary equipment in case a surge of COVID-19 patients require hospitalization, which is why 50 “slightly scaled-down” ventilators have been ordered.
“Ten are on their way,” DuFrayne said. “These ventilators don’t have all the bells and whistles, but they get the job done.”
DuFrayne added, “You can only use them one time, and you can only keep patients on them for 30 days. Most COVID-19 patients who require a ventilator will only need to be on that ventilator for seven to 14 days.”
The 24 full-time ventilators can be reused, but the tubing and other fixtures must be replaced. DuFrayne and Kelley said the hospital has plenty of ventilator tubing available at the hospital.
“Right now, we could have 50 patients on ventilators if we needed to,” DuFrayne said. “Luckily, we don’t need to.”
—–
Click here for all of our coronavirus coverage.
The Owensboro Health coronavirus hotline is available 24/7 by calling 877-888-6647. Call the hotline before seeking in-person care. More information from OH can be found here.
For the latest information and data on COVID-19 in Kentucky visit kycovid19.ky.gov or dial the Kentucky state hotline at 800-722-5725.
For the latest health guidelines and resources from the CDC, visit their website here.
