As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, SAIT has donated 13 ventilators to Alberta Health Services to help front-line physicians battle the virus.
The institution was previously using the machines to help first and second-year students gain hands-on experience with industry equipment. However, when all in-person post-secondary classes were cancelled on March 15, SAIT made the decision to transfer its equipment to those in need.
“We were having regular meetings with Alberta Health Services about the pandemic, and the potential need for our ventilators came up during a discussion,” the academic chair for life sciences portfolio at SAIT, Meena Kumar said in a statement on Thursday.
“Since on-campus classes were suspended and moved online, it didn’t make sense to keep the ventilators in an empty classroom.”
Currently there are 100 hospitals with 8,483 beds in Alberta. Of those, 295 are ICU beds and there are 509 ventilators. On April 8, Premier Jason Kenney announced that the province is looking to build its ventilator capacity should the need for them increase as the pandemic continues.
The institution is also fast-tracking students graduation process to help soon-to-be workers get into jobs quicker.
“The majority of the respiratory therapists working in Calgary hospitals and the community are SAIT graduates,” Kumar said.
“I’m very proud of our students and faculty who are focused on doing all they can to help during this stressful time.”
Several students will be graduating one week early, with many who have completed their clinical requirements already applying for provisional licenses — allowing them to join the ranks of healthcare workers responding to COVID-19 as soon as possible.