YRMC readying ventilators across the hospital amid pandemic

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - As the demand for ventilators skyrockets across the country, ventilators can be life-saving.

With them being in high-demand right now, Yuma Regional Medical Center is keeping tabs on how many they have.

“We believe we’re prepared with ventilator support for individuals as well as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Obviously, if you get a huge rush of patients you could be overwhelmed as we see in New York. [it also] happened previously in Washington."

Dr. Robert Trenschel is the President and CEO of YRMC.

“We believe we’re in a very good spot. We have 41 ventilators available in the hospital. If we were in an emergent situation we could always use our anesthesia machines as a ventilator and we could also use c-pap or bi-pap machines for respiratory support. All told, we have just under 80 about 78 machines that we can use for ventilator support for individuals.”

The hospital currently has some coronavirus patients.

“Right now we only have 3 patients that are on ventilator support either positive or suspected. So we believe we are in a very good position, he said.

“They are on respiratory support right now, they are being treated effectively and appropriately," Dr. Trenschel added.

He describes how this machine can be life-saving.

“They help respiratory support, they help people breathe when they are unable to breathe on their own," he said. “as a treatment, it’s not really a treatment for covid, it is there to support the person’s physiology to help them stay alive or to thrive." the CEO continued.

But Dr. Robert Trenschel reassures that ventilators can provide support, during this pandemic.

“Any individual, whether they are COVID-positive or whether they have some other pathology occurring - ventilators are very effective.”

The CEO also tells me that these machines are used as a treatment for a symptom of the virus. It's not the cure. That's a big point he wanted to get across today.