Almo Using Its Distribution Network To Help Bloom Refurb Old Ventilators For Hospitals

April 1, 2020 by Dave Haynes

I asked yesterday for positive stories to relate about companies in our industry pitching in to help deal with this pandemic in a variety of ways.

Here’s a good one involving the big AV distribution company Almo.

Almo has started working with Bloom Energy Corp.  to refurbish unused, out-of-warranty ventilators and ship them to state agencies and hospitals throughout the USA that need the machines to help patients with critical respiratory issues brought on by COVID-19.

Bloom, which normally makes fuel cell-based energy servers,  is refurbishing the ventilators, while Almo is using its national logistics network to ship the ventilators to/from Bloom’s manufacturing facilities in California and Delaware for refurbishment, and then out to the state agencies and hospitals that need them the most.

Says the PR:

The Society of Critical Care Medicine estimates that 960,000 coronavirus patients in the U.S. may need to be put on ventilators, but there are only about 200,000 such working machines available¹. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, there are 12,700 ventilators in the national “stockpile.” And thousands more sit idle, having reached their end-of-service life.

Bloom is working with biomedical engineers at Stanford Health Care to test the functionality of its refurbished ventilators.

“This is our call to action,” said Bloom Energy founder, chairman, and CEO KR Sridhar. “We have to help. Manufacturing is in our DNA and we believe that it allows our country to stand strong, especially during a time of crisis and need. Like our customers and the communities we serve, we are strong and we are resilient.”

Just last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom reached out to Sridhar for support. By Friday, the State had given Bloom Energy 24 unused ventilators that had been idle. Overnight, Bloom engineers figured out how to fix them and completely refurbished all 24 by Saturday afternoon. With that turnaround time, the Company estimates it could refurbish up to one thousand a week.

“Bloom Energy is stepping up to meet this moment,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom. “This is a great story about Californians looking out for each other. Ventilators provide the most effective intervention for COVID-19 patients in critical care, and the units being refurbished here will save lives.”

“One plus one plus one is greater than three,” said Sridhar. “Community isn’t defined just by physical proximity; it’s coming together in a time of need to act in the interest of the greater good. That’s what this partnership represents, and we certainly welcome others to join.”

Almo, a national distributor of appliances, A/V equipment, furniture and housewares, has more than 2.5 million square feet of distribution space in eight warehouses across the country.

“Our focus has always been on family — the health and safety of our local community and people of this nation is our priority now and we want to do what we can to help in this time of crisis,” said Warren Chaiken, president and CEO, Almo Corporation. “Our logistics processes are organized and efficient, which puts us in a great position to receive the refurbished ventilators from Bloom and quickly get them to state agencies and healthcare facilities so they can be immediately put to use.”

If you have or know of any organizations that have out-of-service ventilators, would like to partner with Bloom and Almo on this effort, or to learn more, please visit www.bloomenergy.com/ventilators, email ventilators@bloomenergy.com or reach us on our hotline – +1 (888) 544-2644