College to loan ventilators to Northeast Ohio hospitals

Cuyahoga Community College announced it will loan eight ventilators to Northeast Ohio hospitals to help treat the growing surge of novel coronavirus 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, according to a news release.

The donation answers a statewide call for equipment issued by Gov. Mike DeWine.

An additional six collegeowned ventilators, which are older, may be loaned out once they undergo servicing to ensure they are ready for patient use, the release stated.

The equipment comes from Tri-C 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, the release stated.

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 in the release. “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, the release stated.