During public health emergencies, hospitals may face more critically ill patients than available mechanical ventilators. Mechanical ventilators are a form of life support that assist breathing by maintaining adequate airway pressure and oxygen exchange, and they are commonly used in surgery, severe lung disease, and respiratory emergencies (Cleveland Clinic). Shortages of this resource became especially accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when large numbers of patients with respiratory failure overwhelmed hospitals worldwide (Lo and White). In these circumstances, health care…