On Thursday, the federal government delivered 100 ventilators to 11 Colorado hospitals for use in COVID-19 response.

Ventilators provide a tube down a patient’s airway and breathe for them when they are unable to breathe on their own. In a study of COVID-19 patients admitted in February to Seattle-area hospitals, 75% required mechanical ventilation for the respiratory disease. Multiple smaller studies from around the world have suggested that mortality rates for persons on ventilators could be as low as 13%.

The ventilators came from the national stockpile of medical equipment, and arrived eight days after President Donald Trump pledged them to Colorado seemingly in response to a request from U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, who is facing reelection this November. Gov. Jared Polis said a few days prior that the federal government had commandeered 500 ventilators destined for the state.

Gardner has also called for an investigation of the ventilators in the federal government’s possession after a New York Times report revealed that the contract for maintaining the machines lapsed in 2019, and more than 2,000 were inoperative when the pandemic hit.

The Emergency Operations Center has allocated the equipment statewide, but placed many machines at Denver metro area trauma facilities. The ventilators may move around Colorado as the need arises, and after the pandemic they will return to the stockpile.

The distribution of ventilators is as follows:

• Denver Health and Hospital Authority (Denver): 15 ventilators

• University Hospital (Denver): 15 ventilators

• St. Anthony’s Hospital (Denver): 15 ventilators

• Swedish Medical Center (Denver): 15 ventilators

• St. Mary’s Hospital (Grand Junction): 5 ventilators

• Mercy Medical Center (Durango): 5 ventilators

• San Luis Valley Medical Center (Alamosa): 5 ventilators

• Parkview Medical Center (Pueblo): 10 ventilators

• Memorial Central (Colorado Springs): 5 ventilators

• North Colorado Medical Center (Greeley): 5 ventilators

• U.C. Health (Greeley): 5 ventilators