The Gary 411 • April 3, 2020
Contributed By:The 411 News
Intubation Box gives an additional layer of security and protection for health care providers
The term PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) most often refers to the gowns, gloves and masks that health providers don to protect them from exposure to infectious diseases, but Dr. Mohammad Zaman, Medical Director of Methodist Hospitals Emergency Services, has brought a new type of protective device to Northwest Indiana.
The new device is an intubation box. Intubation is the process of inserting a tube into a patient’s airway so they can be placed on a ventilator. It is a high risk procedure for the emergency medicine physicians, anesthesiologists, pulmonologists and respiratory therapists who perform it on suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients.
Made of plexiglass, with openings for a physician’s arms and hands, the box provides an additional layer of protection for health care providers executing the procedure.
While brainstorming ways to improve patient and physician safety during the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Zaman came across an article about use of such a box in Asia.
Finding blueprints for it had been placed on the internet for the free use of physicians across the world, Dr. Zaman turned to Facebook to find sources that could quickly produce it. “I was amazed at how quickly we received responses from people who said they could make the boxes. We sent out the request on a Monday and by Friday we had them,” said Dr. Zaman.
Twelve of the boxes were produced and hand-delivered to hospitals served by Dr. Zaman and his colleagues at Vituity Inc., which provides emergency medicine services to Methodist Hospitals. Methodist Hospitals has two of the boxes at each campus. Boxes were also delivered to other northwest Indiana and Illinois hospitals.
“We are happy to be able to provide these boxes to hospitals. Physicians and other emergency room staff are excited and grateful to have this extra layer of protection,” Dr. Zaman said. “It really improves providers’ confidence and security in their ability to safely care for their patients.”
Vituity is a physician-led, physician-owned partnership combining clinical excellence with business acumen to help healthcare organizations raise the standard of patient care and improve their performance metrics. It is comprised of top physicians, advanced providers, and industry professionals, practicing in 9 specialties across 14 states.
