Hospitals Can Use One Ventilator for Two Patients as Last Resort

Hospitals, as “an absolute last resort,” can put two Covid-19 patients on a single ventilator, the HHS said in an open letter.

The Department of Health and Human Services gave hospitals the go-ahead as they prepare for the possibility of not having enough ventilators to care for all the patients who are struggling to breathe while sick with Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Hospitals should first use other types of ventilators—like those used for anesthesia, transporting patients, home use, and sleep apnea—prior to co-venting patients, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir and Surgeon General Jerome Adams ...