Only 40 covid-19 patients remain on ventilators in new jersey

Only 40 COVID-19 Patients Remain on Ventilators in New Jersey

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1 min read
August 16, 2020

TOMS RIVER, NJ – The COVID-19 virus is is not killing as many people today as it did just a few months, even a few weeks ago in New Jersey.  According to Governor Phil Murphy, just 40 patients remain on ventilators, many of them long term care patients in intensive care.

That’s in part because patients are being treated better and earlier for the virus and ventilators are no longer the first option for patients who contract the virus with serious respiratory conditions.

According to Brian Gragnolati, CEO of Atlantic Health Systems, patients with chronic symptoms are no longer being put on ventilators.  Now, he said they are being put on CPAP/BI-PAP machines.  They are the same ones used by sleep apnea patients at home.

Gragnolati said the lifesaving drug remdesivir is also given to patients and it has significantly reduced the mortality rate of the virus.

“Initially, we were using it once patients were on ventilators. Now we’re using it a little earlier in the process and that has had some very positive results,” Gragnolati said. “We continue to learn, and we continue to share those ideas and that really has made a big, big difference.”

At the height of the pandemic, nearly 1,600 people in New Jersey were on ventilators in crowded hospitals.

Today, just 91 patients are in intensive care units statewide.  278 patients are in the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms down from almost 10,000 back in April.

 

Phil Stilton

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

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