We have all become acutely aware of the incredible shortages that hospitals face due to COVID-19. Demand for PPE, ventilators, auxiliary equipment, etc. has skyrocketed as hospitals are scrambling to protect patients and healthcare workers. With the medical supply chain stretched to its limits, many manufacturers are stepping up to fill in the gaps. Even with increased production, our country’s largest suppliers are not able to keep up. In response, we are seeing companies from non-medical industries stepping outside their standard production protocols to support the cause.
Ford, GM & Tesla
In the Automotive Industry, Ford, GM and Tesla are designing and manufacturing ventilators by partnering with existing manufacturers and offering assistance to increase production. On Monday, Tesla engineers displayed a prototype for medical ventilators that are in very high demand due to the outbreak. The company plans to utilize their own parts and components in order to avoid disruption to the medical supply chain. Ford has partnered with GE and 3M to start manufacturing ventilators and PAPRs. Over the course of the next four months, Ford plans to produce 50,000 ventilators. Ford has also been 3D printing face shields at full capacity to support the crisis.
Clothing Companies
Automotive manufacturing is not the only industry who is jumping in to help. Clothing companies including Zara and Los Angeles Apparel are producing masks and hospital gowns buy re-purposing fabric materials from their own supply chains. These companies are striving to manufacturer hundreds of thousands of face masks and hospital gowns and are donating a large majority of the production. Companies like Los Angeles Apparel have even hired additional staff to keep up with the demands for masks. Many believe this will not be a passing fad but it will become the standard to wear a face mask when sick.
Dyson
Dyson, known for its fans and vacuum cleaners, is intuitively able to transition to production of a brand new Dyson ventilator. The company has partnered with Grey Technologies to develop a new ventilator design that works efficiently to conserve oxygen, mounts to hospital beds and is easily portable. Dyson is donating 5,000 units, 1,000 of which will go to the United Kingdom where the company is headquartered. In addition to this donation, Grey Technologies is making its ventilator designs free for other manufacturers to produce.
How Lakeside Manufacturing Is Supporting Medical Facilities
At Lakeside Manufacturing, we are utilizing our engineering capabilities to take products that are in shortage and create simplified, quick-ship versions as a rapid response to COVID-19. We understand that the fight against COVID-19 will require all of us to innovate and find creative solutions to combat equipment shortages. In response to shortages of IV Poles throughout hospitals, Lakeside has designed and is actively manufacturing a heavy duty, stainless-steel IV Stand with minimal lead time and shipping of up to 25 units in just 3 days. We will be updating our COVID-19 Resource page with additional rapid response products. Please contact us with any feedback or for current lead time estimates at info@elakeside.com or 800-558-8565.
