Ford Joins Effort to Make Ventilators and Respirators Amid Pandemic

Ford Joins Effort to Make Ventilators and Respirators Amid Pandemic

Following President Donald Trumps call for American companies to repurpose parts of their production..

Following President Donald Trumps call for American companies to repurpose parts of their production capacity to make much-needed ventilators and other equipment to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, carmaker Ford announced Tuesday it would be joining other major U.S. manufacturers to produce thousands of medical devices needed for critically ill patients.

“Weve been in regular dialogue with federal, state and local officials to understand the areas of greatest needs,” Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett said, adding that the companys aim was to increase the supply on necessary medical equipment.

The rapid outbreak, which has killed thousands of people globally, has strained healthcare systems around the world and led to a shortage of ventilators needed to treat patients suffering from the flu-like illness, which can lead to breathing difficulties and pneumonia in severe cases.

Epoch Times Photo
An employee of Hamilton Medical AG tests a ventilator at a plant in Domat/Ems, Switzerland, on March 18, 2020. (Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo)

Earlier, Trump said that General Motors (GM), Tesla, and Ford have been approved to produce ventilators to combat the CCP virus surge in the United States. The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Partys coverup and mishandling allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.

In its drive to fill the gap in medical gear, Ford has joined forces with General Electrics (GE) healthcare division and 3M.

Ford and GE Healthcare will expand the production of GEs ventilator design to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing caused by the pathogen, Ford said.

Separately, Ford will work with 3M to increase manufacturing capacity of its air-purifying respirators to meet a surge in demand for first responders and healthcare workers.

The company said it was exploring how it could produce these new respirators in one of its Michigan manufacturing plants and help 3M boost production ten-fold. It would use fans from its Ford F-150 cooled seats to make parts of the respirators, the company said.

“Were proud to work with @3M, @GEHealthcare and @UAW to lend our engineering and manufacturing expertise to quickly expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies for healthcare workers, first responders and patients fighting #COVID19,” the company said on Twitter.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer thanked Ford in a statement for “teaming up to build the equipment that we need to keep our health care workers safe and help save lives.”

GM has also partnered with medical equipment maker Ventecis and is building ventilators at its plant in Indiana.

Earlier, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote that his company would produce ventilators if there is a shortage, saying in a separate statement that plans for production were already underway at Tesla factories. “Were working on Read More – Source

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