Lucas Halliday, BSN, RN, CCRN

Lucas Halliday, BSN, RN, CCRN

Nurse Anesthesia student, Fitzpatrick College of Nursing/Prospect Medical Holdings – Crozer Keystone Health System

Former Critical care nurse in the medical ICU at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center for six years and a flight nurse in the Air Force Reserve for five years

April 5, 2020

Three nurse anesthesia students, Emily Hylton, Lucas Halliday and Shayla Davis, are part of a team with the College of Engineering  which is quickly developing a prototype for a low-cost ventilator for which there is an urgent need during the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As nurse anesthesia students, my classmates and I have been removed from clinical participation for the unforeseen future. During this absence, I have sought ways to assist alleviating the suffering from this pandemic. I want to use my education and experience to contribute during this significant time of need. An offer to participate in this project was presented to me, and I jumped at the opportunity. 

The engineers have obviously been responsible for creating the design for the ventilator and the functioning mechanics behind it. Emily, Shayla, and I have provided useful information on how these designs translate to clinical implementation. The complexity behind effectively delivering ventilation to a critically ill patient requires a collaboration of technical expertise and scientific patient-care knowledge, which this team provides. Additionally, my classmates and I have been able to use our professional network to obtain necessary donated supplies for the construction of this machine. We have maintained social distancing guidelines by conducting our meetings through Zoom.

It is a privilege to be a member of this extraordinary team. While the circumstances surrounding the purpose for this project are undesirable, it is uplifting to see such a dynamic, multidisciplinary response searching for solutions.