Ventilator manufacturers are preventing hospitals from fixing broken
ventilators, machines that keep coronavirus patients alive.
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Tell manufactures to let hospitals fix ventilators!
[ [link removed] ]Take Action
John,
Across the country, gravely ill coronavirus patients need ventilators to
live. But because of our country’s massive shortage of working
ventilators, these patients will die. This shortage will
disproportionately impact Black coronavirus patients, who are dying from
coronavirus at alarmingly high rates.^1
However, the companies who manufacture ventilators can change this. Right
now, manufacturers will not allow hospitals to fix old or broken
ventilators. But, if manufacturers immediately release all repair
documentation and software, schematics, and manuals to hospitals and
independent medical repair technicians, as well as disable any software
that prevents their ventilators from being repaired, they can save the
lives of our friends, family, and community members. [ [link removed] ]Join us in calling
on ventilator manufacturers GE Healthcare, Medtronic, Ventec Life
Solutions, Hamilton Medical, Vyaire Medical, and the organization that
lobbies for them, AdvaMed, to allow hospitals to fix broken ventilators.
Please see our email below for more information on this issue.
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In the midst of the global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, ventilators
are a life-saving tool that are being used to treat coronavirus. But these
life-saving machines are in short supply. Hospitals are facing an extreme
shortage of these devices, and they need to repair the ventilators they
have. Because of the repair restrictions put in place by ventilator
manufacturers — like GE Healthcare, Medtronic, Ventec Life Solutions, and
Hamilton Medical — and the group that lobbies for them, AdvaMed, they are
not allowed to fix these critical devices in the fight to save patients
from coronavirus.
[ [link removed] ]Tell ventilator manufacturers to let hospitals fix broken ventilators.
The number of patients seeking treatment for coronavirus is increasing
exponentially. This means there is an increase in the need for
ventilators, which are used to assist a patient’s breathing or may breathe
for them. But if hospitals try to repair their ventilators, they will be
locked out of them by anti-repair software. If hospitals hire independent
repair technicians to fix their ventilators, they face legal
ramifications.^2 For every broken ventilator or ventilator whose software
cannot be updated, a patient in need of a ventilator will die. This is
particularly life-threatening for Black patients; because Black people
disproportionately suffer from illnesses like asthma, they are that much
more likely to need a ventilator to stay alive if they contract
coronavirus.^3
[ [link removed] ]Help get hospitals the equipment they need to save coronavirus
patients. Tell manufacturers to let hospitals fix broken ventilators.
The stakes are high. There are only 62,000 ventilators in service across
the country, and states like New York alone need at least 30,000
more.^4 Hospitals cannot afford to purchase new ventilators due to their
high prices; producing new ventilators will take months to meet the urgent
demand; and, without repair documentation and software, hospitals cannot
fix the ventilators they already have.^5^ 6 However, there are as many as
100,000 older ventilators in need of repair stored in hospitals and
warehouses around the country. These ventilators could be quickly brought
into service if ventilator manufacturers immediately act.^7 100,000 more
ventilators means thousands upon thousands of people will be given a
fighting chance to beat coronavirus.
Amid dwindling medical equipment, medical staff are being forced to decide
whether they should implement a universal “do not resuscitate” rule, which
could have disproportionate impacts on Black patients, who are more likely
to have the pre-existing health conditions that would disqualify them from
treatment if such drastic measures are implemented.^8 We cannot allow
Black people to suffer because ventilator manufacturers value profit over
our lives.
[ [link removed] ]Join us in taking action to demand manufacturers release ventilator
repair manuals and allow hospitals to fix broken ventilators.
Until justice is real,
—Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Jade, Johnny, Amanda, Evan, Imani, Samantha,
Jennette, Ciera, Eesha, Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of
Change team
References:
1. “Early Data Shows African Americans Have Contracted and Died of
Coronavirus at an Alarming Rate,” ProPublica, April 3, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
2. “Hospitals Need to Repair Ventilators. Manufacturers Are Making That
Impossible,” Vice, March 18, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
3. “Rumor, Disparity and Distrust: Why Black Americans Face an Uphill
Battle Against COVID-19,” US News, March 25, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
4. “United States Resource Availability for COVID-19,” Society of
Critical Care Medicine, March 19, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
5. “More lifesaving ventilators are available. Hospitals can’t afford
them.,” The Washington Post, March 18, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
6. “The Trump Administration Just Canceled an Order for 80,000
Ventilators to Haggle Over the Price,” The Root, March 27, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
7. “United States Resource Availability for COVID-19,” Society of
Critical Care Medicine, March 19, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
8. “Hospitals consider universal do-not-resuscitate orders for
coronavirus patients,” The Washington Post, March 25, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. [ [link removed] ]Help
keep our movement strong.
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