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Ask HN: How can we increase hospital bed/ventilator capacity in the US?

• olegious 7y ago
  This is why we shouldn't suspend building codes to quickly build hospitals: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/07/china/china-coronavirus-hotel-collapse/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/07/china/china-coronavirus-hotel... Maybe other than increasing bed capacity, we should do a better job of teaching people how to reduce the chances of getting complications from things like the flu and giving them the resources and support to do so, this way we can reduce the need for hospital beds. I'm talking about the importance of bed rest, fluids, etc. and paid sick leave and access to video healthcare consultations. It is amazing to me how many people are out and about while ill. In terms of increasing hospital beds- we can reuse some of the hotels that have temporarily shut for business, but more beds don't mean that we'll have enough health workers available to support the people in these beds. This brings us back to "reduce complications and don't fill the beds."
  • dpeck 7y ago
    | This is why we shouldn't suspend building codes to quickly build hospitals "The hotel was a seven-story steel structure, built in 2013 and converted to a hotel in 2018, according to Xinhua" It doesn't appear to me that this has anything to do with building codes being suspended, but I do agree with you that they should not be.
    • olegious 7y ago
      That part of my comment refers to the well known issue that China often builds things quickly while taking shortcuts in building standards (either because they don't exist or due to corruption).
• daotoad 7y ago
  This gets a 4x extension of our ventilator supply: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16885402 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16885402 We also have thousands of small manufacturers and hobbyists who are capable of building improvised ventilators should guidance be provided. Since we are going into spring and summer months, we can use tents to set up extra space. Also since schools are empty, they can provide additional spaces. We have capacity, we just need leadership and direction.
  • Engineering-MD 7y ago
    The problem with this (multiple patients on one generator) is it’s far from ideal and hugely experimental. It’s not really been done for prolonged periods or in large numbers. Patients would need to be matched for physiological variables, and it may reduce modifying these parameters dynamically.
    • onetimemanytime 7y ago
      at least they can try it. If 1400 patients show in an afternoon, this may seem like paradise.
• onetimemanytime 7y ago
  Ventilators might be the issue, I'm sure the Army Engineers can do something pretty quick with field hospitals. But then, they have to also be ready for war--just in case.
• jobseeker990 7y ago
  All of those abandoned anchor stores you see in shopping centers could become hospitals.