Westchester Coronavirus: NY Ventilator Reserve Will Last 6 Days

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — More ventilators were sent to Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties overnight from New York state's stockpile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his Thursday coronavirus news briefing. If the rate of deployment continues, the state has enough ventilators to hand out for about six more days, he said.

New York now reports 92,381 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

As the state scrambles for alternatives to the ventilators, staffers at Northwell Health came up with a way using a 3-D printer to modify BiPAP machines to help COVID-19 patients who are having trouble breathing. They are sharing the innovative adaptation with other hospitals across the state, Cuomo said.

BiPAP machines are commonly used to maintain a consistent breathing pattern in people with sleep apnea, congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a chronic inflammatory lung disease, said officials at Northwell, which has hospitals, urgent care centers and affiliated doctors across Westchester as well as Long Island and New York City.

New York has purchased 3,000 BiPAP machines from Philips in Pittsburgh, and 750 machines are already in stock and will be distributed to hospitals.

Cuomo said the state has already taken a number of extraordinary measures to acquire more ventilators and build its stockpile, including tracking where all the ventilators are located in New York and shifting their locations to meet the highest need and ending elective surgeries. If necessary, hospitals may also use anesthesia machine ventilators or use a "splitting" protocol where one ventilator is used for two patients using separate tubes.

Cuomo also announced the State has begun conducting a hospital-by-hospital survey on a nightly basis to take inventory of every hospital's supplies. Additionally, all hospitals are being asked to contribute the supplies they don't currently need to a central stockpile to be distributed to hospitals with the greatest need.

He is also encouraging any company with the proper equipment or personnel to begin to manufacture PPE products if possible. The state is willing to provide funding to any company to obtain the proper equipment and personnel. Businesses interested in receiving state funding to manufacture PPE products should call 212-803-3100 or email COVID19supplies@esd.ny.gov.

The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases in Long Island is catching up with the number of cases in Westchester, where the state's first hot spot was located. Both regions lag far behind New York City.

The increase is "troubling," Cuomo said. There were 1,033 new cases overnight in Nassau County, which now has 10,587 positive cases. Suffolk County had 1,141 new cases overnight, bringing its total to 8,746, Cuomo said.

Westchester County had 11,567 cases as of Thursday morning, an increase of 884 over Wednesday.

Overnight, 200 more ventilators were released to Long Island and Westchester from the New York state stockpile, Cuomo said. There are about 2,200 ventilators left in that reserve. At the rate at which people are entering New York hospitals per night needing a ventilator — roughly 350 — the stockpile will last about six more days, he said.

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