General Motors and Ventec Life Systems are producing VOCSN critical care ventilators to help combat COVID-19 at the automaker’s Kokomo, Indiana manufacturing facility with FDA-cleared ventilators scheduled to ship as soon as next month.

Across all manufacturers, there is a global backorder of critical care ventilators capable of supporting patients fighting the pandemic, said the automaker. The companies are adding thousands of units of new capacity with a significantly expanded supply chain capable of supporting high volume production.

Ventec Life Systems said it is also ramping up production at its manufacturing facility in Bothell, Washington.      

GM will also begin manufacturing FDA-cleared Level 1 surgical masks at its Warren, Michigan manufacturing facility. Production will begin next week and within two weeks ramp up to 50,000 masks per day, with the potential to increase to 100,000 per day. This employee-led initiative was created, planned and approved in about 48 hours and involves GM’s traditional supply base as well as new partnerships specific to the medical device industry. GM will be collaborating with governments and local suppliers to distribute the masks.

Depending on the needs of the federal government, Ventec and GM are poised to deliver the first ventilators next month and ramp up to a manufacturing capacity of more than 10,000 critical care ventilators per month with the infrastructure and capability to scale further, the automaker said in a release.

GM will deploy an estimated 1,000 American workers to scale production of critical care ventilators immediately. Working with the United Auto Workers (UAW), GM has brought back employees from GM’s Kokomo and Marion facilities.

VOCSN integrates five separate devices including a critical care ventilator, oxygen concentrator, cough assist, suction and nebulizer into a single portable device. It provides invasive and non-invasive ventilation across a comprehensive set of modes and settings throughout the care continuum from the hospital to the home.