About Ontario Ventilator Equipment Pool

Mission

Provide life-enhancing respiratory equipment to Ontario clients.

Vision

Discovery and learning to achieve better health for our clients by participating in and sharing high quality research and evidence based practice guidelines related to long-term mechanical ventilation.

Values

Compassion and respect for the client’s vulnerability and desire for independence.

Partnership with clients, caregivers and health care providers to enable the best possible outcome for each client.

Research and innovation in the application of long-term mechanical ventilation and mechanical airway clearance therapy at home.

ADP

The Ontario Ventilator Equipment Pool (VEP) is a provincial service operated by the Kingston Health Sciences Centre.  The service is funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC), the VEP is the central depot of ventilators and related equipment for persons of all ages who require these devices at home and who have been approved under the ministry’s Assistive Devices Program.

VEP equipment is loaned free-of-charge to individuals with a long-term physical disability or illness requiring mechanical ventilation, for example, muscular dystrophy (MD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The program maintains sustainability as clients who no longer require the equipment, return it to the VEP where it is cleaned, serviced, tested and loaned to the next eligible client.

Services

The VEP is staffed by highly qualified professionals, including Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRT) and Biomedical Engineering Technologists.  The VEP offers a number of related services, including 24 hour telephone technical support seven days a week, equipment service and educational resources.  As of 2019, the VEP currently employs 17 on-site staff and 19 clinical educators and on call staff across the province.

Educational support is available in various formats.  Resources such as learning guides, technical user manuals, and a reference library are available on the VEP website.  Clients, caregivers, and healthcare providers may request an online session to speak with an RRT via REACTS™️.  The VEP also provides an in-home education visit by a registered respiratory therapist to review the use and care of equipment for new applicants.  Education is provided for clients who require invasive and non-invasive ventilation, mechanical airway clearance and, for patients less than 19 years of age, continuous pulse oximetry.

History

Established in 1994, the VEP operated on site at what is now called the Kingston Health Sciences Centre (previously Kingston General Hospital).  In 2007, to accommodate the program’s growth, the VEP moved to a location in Kingston’s west end at Cataraqui Woods Drive.  The facility is wheelchair accessible and has convenient on-site parking for clients.

In 2007, the VEP expanded its program to include the provision of oxygen saturation monitors to individuals under the age of 19, including premature infants who at higher risk of profound drops in blood oxygen levels.  Without these monitors, young individuals would be at much higher risk of respiratory failure or increased hospital stays.

The program has since expanded to include the provision of mechanical in-exsufflators to eligible clients who are not able to generate an effective cough on their own.  Since 2016, the VEP has dispensed more than 1200 CoughAssist™️ units.  Without these devices, individuals with a weak or ineffective cough would be much more susceptible to lung infections requiring antibiotic treatment, emergency department visits and increased hospital days.

Products

For a complete list of the equipment provided by the VEP, please select the products link.