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Oxygen and Ventilator Logistics During California’s COVID-19 Surge: When Oxygen Becomes a Scarce Resource

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 August 2021

Asha V. Devereaux Open the ORCID record for Asha V. Devereaux [Opens in a new window] ,
Howard Backer Open the ORCID record for Howard Backer [Opens in a new window] ,
Arzoo Salami ,
Chuck Wright ,
Kate Christensen ,
Kathleen Rice ,
Cindy Jakel-Smith ,
Mitch Metzner ,
Jasmeet K. Bains  and
Kathy Staats
...Show all authors
Asha V. Devereaux*
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA Sharp Coronado Hospital, Coronado, CA, USA
Howard Backer
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Arzoo Salami
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Chuck Wright
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Kate Christensen
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Kathleen Rice
Affiliation:
UC San Diego Health, San Diego, CA, USA
Cindy Jakel-Smith
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Mitch Metzner
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Jasmeet K. Bains
Affiliation:
Bakersfield Recovery Services, Bakersfield, CA, USA
Kathy Staats
Affiliation:
County EMS, El Centro, San Diego, CA, USA
Richard Branson
Affiliation:
Division of Trauma & Critical Care, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Markell Pierce
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Erin Noste
Affiliation:
UC San Diego Health, San Diego, CA, USA UCSD Emergency Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA
David Duncan
Affiliation:
California Emergency Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
*
Correspondence author: Asha V. Devereaux, Email: adevereaux@cal-mat.org.
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Abstract

The state of California, in the United States of America, has a population of nearly 40 million people and is the 5th largest economy in the world. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020-2021, the state experienced a medical surge that stressed its sophisticated health-care and public health system. During this period, ventilators, oxygen, and other equipment necessary for providing ventilatory support became a scarce resource in many health-care settings. When demand overwhelms supply, creative solutions are required at all levels of disaster management and health care. This study describes the disaster response by the state of California to mitigate the emergency demands for oxygen delivery resources.

Keywords

oxygenventilatorsmass carelogisticssurgeCOVID-19disasteralternate care sites
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e33
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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