Ventec Life Systems members show clinical staff at Franciscan Health Hospital how to operate VOCSN critical care ventilators Friday 17 April 2020 in Olympia Fields, IL.
The first VOCSN V+Pro critical care ventilators produced by General Motors and Ventec Life Systems in Kokomo, Indiana are being delivered by UPS to Franciscan Health Olympia Fields in Olympia Fields, Illinois, and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago at the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The shipments, of course, are putting important tools in the hands of front-line medical professionals treating patients seriously ill with COVID-19 as the US desperately tries to catch up with the plague made worse by 0ngoing denials and obfuscations among national and local political “leaders. ”
Franciscan Health Olympia Fields received their shipment early Friday morning and Weiss Memorial will receive theirs Friday afternoon. A third shipment from GM-Kokomo will be delivered by UPS to FEMA at the Gary/Chicago International Airport on Saturday for distribution to other locations where the need is greatest.
“For a community hospital that was already struggling with budgetary constraints prior to this crisis, these ventilators are a much-needed infusion of critical resources to care for our patients, which includes a significant elderly population,” said Mary Shehan, CEO of Weiss Memorial Hospital. “We need all the help we can get now to rise to this unprecedented challenge.”
Said Allan M. Spooner, president, and CEO of Franciscan Health Olympia Fields: “Every single one of these ventilators will make a difference in the lives of critical COVID-19 patients and our other patients with acute respiratory illness.”
The deliveries are the culmination of a partnership between GM and Ventec Life Systems that began with a phone call exactly one month ago. Since then, the combined teams have sourced thousands of parts, transformed GM’s advanced electronics facility in Kokomo for medical device production. GM-Ventec ultimately contracted with the slow-moving U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide 30,000 ventilators by the end of August and launched mass production, but before don-nothing Trump criticized GM to divert responsibility from himself and his Administration.
More than 1,000 men and women from the Kokomo community will be building ventilators. Their signatures are on the outside of the delivery boxes.
“The passion and commitment that people at GM, Ventec and our suppliers have put into this work is inspiring, and we are all humbled to support the heroic efforts of medical professionals in Chicagoland and across the world who are fighting to save lives and turn the tide of the pandemic,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.
“Patients deserve access to the best technology to keep them in the fight as their bodies combat the virus,” said Ventec Life Systems CEO Chris Kiple.
“In the words of our founder, determined people working together can accomplish anything; and GM, Ventec and UPS have accomplished this together with the speed, quality and exacting precision,” said UPS Chairman and CEO David Abney.
Ventec Life Systems members show respiratory and clinical staff at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Hospital how to operate VOCSN critical care ventilators Friday 17 April 2020 in Olympia Fields, IL
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
First GM-Ventec Critical Care Ventilators Delivered
Ventec Life Systems members show clinical staff at Franciscan Health Hospital how to operate VOCSN critical care ventilators Friday 17 April 2020 in Olympia Fields, IL.
The first VOCSN V+Pro critical care ventilators produced by General Motors and Ventec Life Systems in Kokomo, Indiana are being delivered by UPS to Franciscan Health Olympia Fields in Olympia Fields, Illinois, and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago at the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The shipments, of course, are putting important tools in the hands of front-line medical professionals treating patients seriously ill with COVID-19 as the US desperately tries to catch up with the plague made worse by 0ngoing denials and obfuscations among national and local political “leaders. ”
Franciscan Health Olympia Fields received their shipment early Friday morning and Weiss Memorial will receive theirs Friday afternoon. A third shipment from GM-Kokomo will be delivered by UPS to FEMA at the Gary/Chicago International Airport on Saturday for distribution to other locations where the need is greatest.
“For a community hospital that was already struggling with budgetary constraints prior to this crisis, these ventilators are a much-needed infusion of critical resources to care for our patients, which includes a significant elderly population,” said Mary Shehan, CEO of Weiss Memorial Hospital. “We need all the help we can get now to rise to this unprecedented challenge.”
Said Allan M. Spooner, president, and CEO of Franciscan Health Olympia Fields: “Every single one of these ventilators will make a difference in the lives of critical COVID-19 patients and our other patients with acute respiratory illness.”
The deliveries are the culmination of a partnership between GM and Ventec Life Systems that began with a phone call exactly one month ago. Since then, the combined teams have sourced thousands of parts, transformed GM’s advanced electronics facility in Kokomo for medical device production. GM-Ventec ultimately contracted with the slow-moving U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide 30,000 ventilators by the end of August and launched mass production, but before don-nothing Trump criticized GM to divert responsibility from himself and his Administration.
More than 1,000 men and women from the Kokomo community will be building ventilators. Their signatures are on the outside of the delivery boxes.
“The passion and commitment that people at GM, Ventec and our suppliers have put into this work is inspiring, and we are all humbled to support the heroic efforts of medical professionals in Chicagoland and across the world who are fighting to save lives and turn the tide of the pandemic,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.
“Patients deserve access to the best technology to keep them in the fight as their bodies combat the virus,” said Ventec Life Systems CEO Chris Kiple.
“In the words of our founder, determined people working together can accomplish anything; and GM, Ventec and UPS have accomplished this together with the speed, quality and exacting precision,” said UPS Chairman and CEO David Abney.
Ventec Life Systems members show respiratory and clinical staff at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Hospital how to operate VOCSN critical care ventilators Friday 17 April 2020 in Olympia Fields, IL
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.