GM helps Washington ventilator maker scale up amid COVID-19 crisis

Bothell’s Ventec Life Systems is one of only a handful of manufacturers that makes ventilators in the US.

Now General Motors is stepping in to help Ventec ramp up production.

At GM they are calling it "Project V." The goal is to build 200,000 Ventec ventilators. GM says it has already sourced most of the parts it needs.

And it’s offering an electronics plant in Kokomo, Indiana. General Motors says the two companies are working around the clock figuring out how to develop the know-how to build these devices.

Nearly a million Americans with COVID-19 are expected to need a ventilator. But the Society of Critical Care Medicine says there are only about 200,000 ventilators in the United States.

Washington state says it needs ventilators. The state’s procurement agency says it has been asked to order at least 300, and more may come from the national stockpile.