EGFD is collecting them for the National Guard to help patients with COVID-19

The East Greenwich Fire Department is working with the National Guard to collect no longer needed C-PAP and Bi-PAP machines. The plan is to turn the breathing machines, typically used at night by those with sleep apnea, into respirators to be used for people in respiratory distress with COVID-19. 

The machines will be brought to the University of Rhode Island, where engineers, and other technical volunteers from across the university will sanitize, test and refit the machines under the oversight of engineering faculty.

Do NOT donate a machine you are using! But, if you have a machine you are no longer using, you can drop it off at Station One on Main Street following these guidelines:

• Remove any parts in contact with a person (masks, hoses)
• Discard any water remaining in your unit’s humidifier
• Wash your hands and wipe down all surfaces with a disinfecting spray
• Place the machine in an unscented garbage bag and tie it to close
• Wash your hands again, and write the machine’s information (machine type, make, model, serial number) on a piece of paper and tape it to the bag
• Drop off your bag at Station One, making sure to maintain 6 feet between you and other individuals and follow proper hand-washing procedures before, during and after delivery.
• Do not bring your machine to a collection site if you or someone in your home has been sick in the last 14 days.

Find a helpful video about donating, along with a convenient donation form to print out HERE. The repurposed machines will be distributed to hospitals and clinics where they are needed.