BOTHELL, WA – In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ventec Life Systems sought an “out-of-the-box” solution to rapidly scale production of their VOCSN critical care ventilator. In March, they formed a partnership with General Motors, and in just 154 days the partnership completed an order of 30,000 critical care ventilators for the U.S. Federal Government.
The final months of the partnership represented monthly production growth over 80x from pre-pandemic levels, and Ventec scaled its production at its headquarters in Bothell, Washington and with GM in Kokomo, Indiana.
But that doesn’t tell the full story of 2020 for Ventec Life Systems. At the end of May, CMS updated its policy for HCPCS code E0467 (Multi-Function Ventilator) that makes virtually any ventilator patient eligible to use VOCSN regardless of their device billing history or through the CMS upgrade option, thus paving the way for increased access to integrated respiratory care for ventilator users. Additionally 46 State Medicaid Programs have opened E0467 as have multiple national and regional commercial payers.
Alongside expanded access, the Ventec team was hard at work making improvements to VOCSN. They added high flow therapy, giving the Multi-Function Ventilator additional features and functionality. And 2020 also saw the launch of VOCSN Multi-View, their holistic monitoring and reporting software, which offers DMEs reporting across multiple respiratory therapies building on the multi-therapy delivery of VOCSN.
Delivering 30,000 VOCSN critical care ventilators to support the Strategic National Stockpile in response to COVID-19 brought exposure to more hospitals, physicians and respiratory therapists. With this new attention and interest, the Ventec team is planning for increased production for the rest of 2020 and into 2021. Several additional improvements are also in the works for the year ahead, including a feature-rich VOCSN Multi-View planned for the early part of 2021.
Beyond the impact COVID-19 has made to Ventec’s business, their most important contribution for the year was providing vital tools to support respiratory therapists, doctors, and other medical professionals on the front lines. When they delivered the last of their 30,000 VOCSN critical care ventilators for the U.S. federal government, Ventec and GM shared the story of Jeffrey Dickerson of Chicago.
“I’m grateful that Weiss Memorial Hospital received ventilators created by Ventec Life Systems and General Motors,” he said. “When I was rushed into the hospital room, I couldn’t walk without pausing to catch my breath. The team at Weiss put me on one of your machines, and I was fortunate to make a fast recovery. They later told me they were running out of ventilators, but fortunately had received one of the first shipments from the federal government, so I didn’t have to wait for help. That machine (VOCSN) pretty much saved my life.”
Ventec Life Systems is proud to be a platinum sponsor of the 2020 Medtrade Virtual Conference. The Ventec team had hoped to be able to connect in-person to talk about the important updates to HCPCS E0467 and to demonstrate the latest updates to VOCSN including Multi-View reporting and the addition of High Flow Therapy. With the new virtual format however, the Ventec team is looking forward to connecting one-on-one via their website, email, or by phone at 844-698-6276 to connect you to a local Ventec representative. It’s clear 2020 was a busy one for Ventec Life Systems in response to COVID-19. Their dedication to integrated respiratory care with VOCSN remains as strong as ever, and the company is poised for continued growth in 2021 and beyond.
