Some hospitals are reportedly considering using veterinary ventilators to address coronavirus shortage

dog intubated.
(Image credit: istock/K_Thalhofer)

Governors and hospitals across the United States are pulling out all the stops and looking wherever they can to find supplies in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rhonda Medows, the president of population health at Providence St. Joseph Health, a chain of hospitals and clinics based in Seattle that operates in seven different states, told The Washington Post the health system is looking into requesting veterinary ventilators normally used to treat large animals. The request could help prepare for the number of COVID-19 patients they need to treat, since they likely won't have enough designed for humans.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.