State asks feds for ventilators; DeSantis says there’s no shortage
Florida asked for more ventilators from the federal government’s emergency stockpile as COVID-19 hospitalizations broke records, a request that Gov. Ron DeSantis says he didn’t know about or authorize.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services approved sending 200 ventilators, 100 smaller breathing devices and other supplies to Florida as cases spike, WPLG Local 10 first reported.
Christina Pushaw, a DeSantis spokesperson, said Wednesday there isn’t a ventilator shortage in Florida and the request for federal help wasn’t made at the governor’s direction.
“The Executive Office of the Governor was not involved in the request at all, and it did not come across the governor’s desk,” she wrote. “We are not aware of any ventilator shortage in Florida.”
The Department of Health acknowledged on Wednesday it coordinated the request with the federal government as part of its routine planning to ensure the state’s pandemic supplies are stocked.
In response to a reporter’s question Tuesday, DeSantis said he didn’t know the state was asking for more ventilators.
“I have not heard about that, so I have to check to see if that’s true or not,” he said. “I would honestly doubt that that’s true, but I’ll look.
We have a lot of stuff that we stockpiled over the last year and a half through the Department of Emergency Management. I have not had any requests across my desk. I haven’t been notified of that.”
Florida hospitals are dealing with an “unprecedented level of patients” that require a significant
level of oxygen with COVID19 admissions making up as much as half the hospital census in some areas of the state, Savannah Kelly, a spokesperson for the Florida Hospital Association, said Wednesday.
“As a result, hospitals have been pursuing numerous options to increase the number of ventilators,” she said. “Hospitals have been working closely with state officials to communicate additional needs regarding ventilators.”
Ventilators pump air into the lungs of the sickest COVID-19 patients when they are no longer able to breathe adequately on their own. About 14% of COVID19 patients are on ventilators, according to a survey by the Florida Hospital Association.
The Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida polled its members recently and didn’t identify shortages of ventilators, said Justin Senior, the CEO of the group representing public hospitals and other safety-net providers.
“Only one even mentioned vents as being a bit tight, but they did not and have not made a request for more vents from the state,” he said. “No one asked me to ask the state for any supplies, including vents.”
AdventHealth, Central Florida’s largest hospital system, has a sufficient number of ventilators and is working with suppliers to bolster its stock, said Jeff Grainger, a hospital spokesperson.
The Health Department filed the request on Friday “to replace expended state stores,” WPLG reported, citing a planning document it obtained.
In a prepared statement, Weesam Khoury, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health, said state officials review “health care needs statewide on a consistent basis.”
“The department routinely works with the federal government to ensure adequate resources are available and ready to be distributed at all times, as done with this recent request,” Khoury said.
Federal statistics show 15,449 inpatient beds are in use for COVID-19 in Florida, including 3,112 intensive-care beds.
DeSantis’ comment that he was unaware of Florida requesting ventilators drew a response during the White House’s press briefing Wednesday.
“I would note that as a policy we don’t send ventilators to states without their interest in receiving the ventilators,” said Jen Psaki, the White House’s press secretary.