VENTILATORS

Michigan has offered hospitalization data, including inpatients, critical care patients and ventilator use for COVID-19 since April 12, 2020.

Beds are filling up at U-M hospital as officials report an increase in COVID activity.

Archer Corporate Services in Belleville were already a supplier to General Motors, but early in the pandemic, the automaker called up and requested their help in manufacturing ventilators. They cleared out their lobby and went to work seven-days-a-week.

DETROIT – With COVID-19 cases rising exponentially in Michigan, local hospitals are starting to fill with new patients. RELATED: Tracking Michigan COVID-19 hospitalization data trendsBoth the Henry Ford Health and Beaumont Health systems have seen a rise in COVID-19 patients. As of 11 a.m. Friday, Henry Ford Health System had 226 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at its six hospitals. Physicians are urging residents to take coronavirus seriously. You can watch Paula Tutman’s full story in the video above.

Michigan health officials updated the states COVID-19 hospitalization data on Tuesday, Aug. 11, the first update to the data since Aug. 3. The states update to the hospitalization data this week includes both confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases for adults, and a breakdown of the amount of inpatients on ventilators and in intensive care (ICU). The combination of confirmed and suspected cases creates a bit of a spike in the trend. The state also added Prev Day COVID Related ED Visits to the to hospitalization data report. Heres a look at the data since the Aug. 11 update, including the percent of active cases in the state:

For the study, U-M researchers used data from 154 critically ill Michigan Medicine patients from early March to late April to formulate their conclusions. At the end of 28 days after patients were put on a ventilator, 36% of patients of non-tocilizumab and 18% of tocilizumab patients died. For patients still at the hospital at the end of the study, 82% of tocilizumab patients and 53% of non-tocilizumab patients stopped using a ventilator. However, just over half of the tocilizumab patients developed an additional infection but only 26% of non-tocilizumab patients did. It was only given to 25% of tocilizumab patients and 20% of non-tocilizumab patients.

DETROIT – Michigan reported a slight uptick in hospitalizations for coronavirus (COVID-19) over the weekend. Between June 19 and June 22, the state reported 15 additional inpatients on ventilators, seven more inpatients in critical care and nine inpatients not in critical care. Still, only 5.37 percent of active COVID-19 cases in Michigan are hospitalized, as of June 22. (Active cases always drop on Saturday when recoveries are updated, so the percentage always increases on Monday). Southeast Michigan regions are reporting the most inpatients, followed by Region 6 (Greater Grand Traverse County area) and Region 3 (West Michigan).

PHOENIX – For the second time, Arizona is activating its hospital emergency plan as cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in the state following implementation of their reopening plan. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order expired on May 15, COVID-19 cases have soared 110 percent - more than doubling to 27,678, as of Monday, according to NBC affiliate KPNX. The governor said last week that an increase in cases was due to an increase in testing. But ICU and ventilator use are rising in state hospitals. Worldwide, more than 400,000 have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University, including 110,000 in the U.S.

ANN ARBOR – Jason Morgan, Chair of Washtenaw County’s Board of Commissioners, has written an open letter to President Donald Trump calling on him to cancel his planned visit to the area on Thursday. President Trump is scheduled to visit Ford’s Rawsonville plant in Ypsilanti, which has been producing ventilators during the pandemic. In his letter, Morgan said that lack of communication from White House personnel to local officials about the visit leads him to believe it must be a campaign stop. “Your tweet incorrectly stated that absentee ballots will be mailed - in fact, residents will receive absentee ballot applications,” wrote Morgan. President Trump has not responded to Morgan’s letter.

A robotics team in Clinton Township is putting their skills to work during the coronavirus outbreak. Team 4810 I.AM.ROBOT, was founded in 2012 at the International Academy of Macomb. Since then, the team has grown from 7 students and 2 mentors to about 66 students and 14 mentors. During the pandemic, the team has worked to create a special intubation shield box for hospitals, providing an extra layer of protection for frontline workers. Watch Nick Monacelli’s feature story on the robotics team in the video player above.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine researchers have invented a device to help multiple COVID-19 patients receive personalized gas pressures and pressure monitoring from a single ventilator. Using 3D printing, researchers created an affordable and mobile vent splitter, a device that allows different patients to use one ventilator. The team of researchers made the VentMI device as a response to predicted shortages in intensive care unit equipment for patients with COVID-19. Since shared ventilator circuits only deliver one pre-set pressure, patients using the ventilator must have similarly-sized lungs and needs. The personalized settings of the VentMI allow patients with different ventilator needs and lung capacities to share a ventilator.

The Michigan governor announced Wednesday that the state is receiving 50 ventilators on loan from the state of California. Gretchen Whitmer said in a news release that the ventilators have arrived in Lansing. “From the beginning, Governor Newsom has taken swift and aggressive action to protect California families from the spread of COVID-19,” reads a statement from Whitmer. These ventilators will save lives and help our health care system treat more COVID-19 patients here in Michigan. Many health care facilities throughout Michigan are facing shortages of essential medical supplies and personal protective equipment.

Workers prepare to build ventilators at the GM manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana, Monday, April 6, 2020, where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce Ventec critical care ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by AJ Mast for General Motors)DETROIT – General Motors announced Tuesday that its first Ventec Life Systems V+Pro critical care ventilators are ready for delivery to the U.S. government’s Strategic National Stockpile. GM was awarded April 8 with a government contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to build 30,000 ventilators by August. The automaker is working with Ventec Life Systems, a partnership announced in March, to produce the machines at its plant in Kokomo, Indiana. The automaker said it has the capacity to build more ventilators after August if needed.

DETROIT – The state of Michigan released new data showing hospitalizations for COVID-19 around the state, as well as available medical supplies. The state has the third most cases in the U.S. Michigan has been criticized for its lack of available data. New hospital data shows how many COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized, how many are in critical care or on a ventilator, and how many have been discharged. The state also released more testing data, showing the daily increases in testing capacity in relation to positive tests. Track the latest COVID-19 Michigan data right here on ClickOnDetroit.

GM awarded government contract to build 30,000 ventilatorsPublished: April 8, 2020, 12:09 pmGeneral Motors has been awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to build 30,000 ventilators by August.

UPDATE: March 31, 2020: GM: First 20,000 masks expected to be delivered by April 8But President Donald Trump, claiming the company wasn't moving fast enough, on Friday invoked the Defense Production Act, which gives the government broad authority to direct companies to meet national defense needs. GM expects to start making ventilators in mid-April, ramping up to a rate of 10,000 per month at as quickly as it can. Gordon, who teaches a class in commercialization of biomedical goods, said Trump likely will claim credit when GM starts making the machines. Critics have urged Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act broadly to control the production, supply and distribution of ventilators and protective gear for hospital workers who are running short. Invoking the Defense Production Act “shined a light” on the need for ventilators, he said, but Ventec can’t move any quicker.