Intermountain Healthcare to Join National Respirator Reserve Program; In Return, Intermountain Can Draw on Reserve

Intermountain is teaming up with some 20 health systems across the nation to support the newly organized Dynamic Ventilator Reserve – a public-private partnership with the American Hospital Association, the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and healthcare suppliers to respond to periodic shortages in ventilators by facilitating short-term lending of ventilators between hospital systems.

Healthcare systems throughout the United States—including Intermountain Healthcare—are gearing up for potential COVID-19 patient surges by identifying equipment and resources needed to support their communities. As hot zones develop around the country, some healthcare systems may temporarily be unable to fully support patients due to ventilator shortages, while ventilators go unused at other healthcare systems around the U.S. not experiencing a surge.

Organizations participating in the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve will review their current and projected ventilator needs, identify surplus ventilators they can temporarily loan to other healthcare systems for up to three weeks, then update their commitment to the Reserve’s database. Healthcare systems are then able to access this virtual inventory as their need for ventilators increases.

“Participating in this program allows us the opportunity to support a health system in need but to get help from other health systems if our COVID-19 cases surge beyond capacity,” said Mikelle Moore, Intermountain’s senior vice president and chief community health officer. “This collegiality will serve Intermountain’s patients well in the future as we also help address health outcomes for the entire nation.”

Some of the other participating organizations include the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and HCA Healthcare (MountainStar Healthcare in Utah).

Intermountain is also closely coordinating in Utah with other institutions like University of Utah Health to share resources, equipment, and supplies. This type of collaboration is constant and helps in providing the best care for Utah patients.