Bismarck, N.D. – NDDoH’s Emergency Preparedness Division conducted a working demonstration of the Hamilton ventilator for medical providers such as physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists. The training demonstration held via video conference.
The NDDoH acquired 50 Hamilton ventilators for the State Medical Cache, bringing the total of ventilators on hand to 64. The State Medical Cache is a stockpile of medical equipment and supplies set aside to help sustain vital health care and first responder services and supply shortages.
“When emergencies arise and health care systems or facilities have depleted their own resources, the State Medical Cache stands ready to assist our health care provider partners,” said NDDoH Health Resources & Response Section Chief, Tim Wiedrich.
“Ventilatory support is just one of many public health and medical needs that occur during large scale emergencies and disasters. Regardless of whether the emergency or disaster occurs as a result of intentional acts such as terrorism or natural occurring threats such as tornadoes, floods and pandemics, public health and medical response is almost always a major part of emergency and disaster response,” said Wiedrich.
Facilities in the state can request to use equipment, including these ventilators, from the State Medical Cache when their own supply is insufficient. All health care facilities in North Dakota have 24/7 access to an online ordering system to request resources from the State Medical Cache when a need is identified.