Cleveland - Cuyahoga Community College will loan eight ventilators to Northeast Ohio hospitals to help treat the growing surge of COVID-19 patients struggling to breathe.
The devices will be distributed for use in intensive care units at Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth System, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and University Hospitals. The donation answers a statewide call for equipment issued by Gov. Mike DeWine.
An additional six College-owned ventilators, which are older, may be loaned out once they undergo servicing to ensure they are ready for patient use.
The equipment comes from College nursing and health career training programs, where it is used for hands-on classroom and lab instruction. Those face-to-face sessions are not currently taking place given a shift to remote instruction to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Ventilators help patients breathe and can mean the difference between life and death for those fighting the respiratory effects of the coronavirus. Equipment shortages have become an international issue during this pandemic.
“Whatever resources the College has to offer will be provided,” Tri-C President Alex Johnson said. “It’s up to all of us to work together to fight COVID-19 and protect the people who make Cleveland the community we love.”
In addition to making the ventilators available, the College recently donated hundreds of boxes of respiratory masks, gloves and other protective equipment to health professionals working on the front lines of the outbreak.
Tri-C is part of a large contingent of community colleges across the nation offering supplies to aid local health care efforts.
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