Dealing with Shortages of Critical Equipment

Dealing with Shortages of Critical Equipment
COVID-19 Has Caused A Shortage Of Face Masks.
Team Organizations	MIT University of Florida
Team Leaders	Wilfred Pinfold
City, State	Independence OR
Contributors
Website	None
Document	None

Description

As the number of COVID-19 cases from the SARS-COV-2 pandemic continues to grow, communities are encouraging physical (or “social”) distancing to slow the rate of transmission. The goal of this guidance is to flatten the curve of new infection, avoiding a surge of demand on the health care system The effects of physical distancing may take several weeks to take effect. Hospitals are already reporting shortages of key equipment for critically ill patients, including ventilators and personal protective equipment for medical staff. Adequate production and distribution of both types of equipment are crucial to caring for patients during the pandemic.

Challenges

• Increasing the supply and availability of ventilators.
• Increasing the availability of personal protective equipment.

Implementation

• Coronavirus: A team from MIT is producing an open-source, low-cost ventilator design
• Univ. of Florida Health Open Source Ventilator Project