NYT: 2,000 ventilators in federal stockpile don't work because of a maintenance lapse

This is a hospital-grade ventilator.



That's about a $35,000 unit. It's just not realistic to stockpile something that expensive and sophisticated.

The $4000 emergency vents accomplish the same basic function, but they don't have all the sophisticated control and safety features of the hospital-grade vents. You'd never want to use an emergency vent in a hospital during normal/non-crisis times, because they'd be a liability nightmare that would make the med-mal lawyers very, very happy and rich.

 

so NY has to get ventilator from China, where is fed on this

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...e-updates-u-s-deaths-rise-more-1-000-n1176616

 

Well, maybe it’s time to start encouraging production of such items locally?

 

That's racist, you alt-right Nazi!

 

On the news the other day I saw a clip showing a hospital ventilator claiming that Oregon hospitals had plenty on hand. But then I see that the ventilators that Oregon is sending to NY are of the portable variety, as you described.

 

Ummm...Trump didn't disband the NSC unit and he never called the virus a hoax. Both of those BS stories were debunked a long time ago, but I doubt CNN ever told you that.

 

Oregon is probably sending vents out of their stockpile of emergency vents, because their hospitals have plenty of hospital-grade vents available.

The situation is the same here in Indiana. We have plenty of vents in out hospitals, and we've been converting our anesthesia machines for use as ventilators if necessary. We have plenty of hospital ventilator capability, so we could probably stand to lend a bunch out of our stockpiles of emergency vents to a place where they're needed.

It's far more a matter of logistics and distribution than an overall lack of ventilators at this stage in the crisis.

 

I'll correct myself.

I saw a story about the Oregon ventilators on my TEEVEE, and they were indeed hospital-grade units. They were $20,000ish units. They only looked portable because they weren't on rolling stands. Somehow, Oregon had a whole buttload of really high-quality ventilators on hand.

 

Seems to me more like a company got pissed off because they lost a contract, and decided to go to court over it, which resulted in the maintenance not being performed.

Myself, this just tells me more and more that this kind of nonsense needs to end, and put this kind of service back under the hands of the government and not to civilian contracts. We have the capability to do this, especially in the military. Cancel these contracts, and turn them over and have the military perform this and other maintenance.

Either that, or pass a law that during such disputes, the required work continues by the new company until it is resolved. Not let some sour-grapes company hold things up for 5 months like this.

 

For decades there has been a statewide medical plan in the works. The idea was a Medicaid style program that anyone could buy into. I don't know all the details, but just as the ACA was coming into being, Oregon was reorganizing the medical industry to work in a coordinated way. It was an agreement between the for-profit and non-profit health providers and the state government, specifically the previous governor. It is a system that efficiently uses specialists, rather than generalists.

In any case, when the ACA went in to effect, Oregon got permission from the Feds to vary from the law somewhat. In the first five years of the ACA Oregon got a large infusion of money which they used to upgrade the facilities, the hospitals and clinics, at least in the Portland Area. I think there was also a large infusion of money for cancer research, which shares facilities with the hospitals, at the time. Consequently the main hospitals all ended up with state of the art operating rooms and ICU's. Some of the operating rooms are almost surreal, not like the operating rooms one sees on television, but rather with racks of electronic equipment. With blinking lights and flashing numbers. Almost like something out of a sci-fi movie.

There is also the emergency preparedness that they do in Oregon. But it is a tsunami that they fear. A good earthquake off the coast of Oregon could cause a tsunami rushing up the Columbia to Portland, causing a lot of harm along the way. I think they have prepared for a sudden need for a rush of hospital beds.

 

Are we still blaming Obama or the Clintons or is that just getting too obvious? Its someone between James Polk and Jimmy Carter

 

Exactly, btg.

We have moved onto blaming James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson.

Ironically, same 2 Presidents who Trump eclipsed to Claim the Title of WORST EVER.

Obviously, Trump dropped the ball on the situation involving these ventilators.

But, to hear Trump tell it:

 

And what does he have to do with this contract dispute which had the case tied up in court so no work was being done?