Plenty of that stuff around and more can be made. I like the creativity

Something else that occurred to me as I was doing some yardwork involving tarps: why can't tarps be made into PPE? I would think they would be ideal if cut properly and I guess they could be re-used.

It's so sad that we are considering these creative solutions, but desperate times....

on my lungs. So, I wondered about that, as well. From my non-medical (but asthmatic) perspective

this seems like a good idea.

but the medical, support staff and supplies to care for the patients.

it could be a start.

They're not stationary devices.

Wouldn't that work?

I don't think this is a perfect solution, but it beats the hell out of stacking people in the hallways.

But if a patient codes, hospital beds go flat, chairs don't. The bed height can be adjusted to accommodate for height of the patient or care givers. You can also raise the feet and lower the head, quickly for various medical reasons. In a bed the patient can be turned every few hours to lower the risk of bedsores, not so much in a chair.

If a patient needs to be moved to a different unit for emergency reasons, wheels come in handy. But also all the built in options on a bed. IE: you can attach IV's, oxygen and other support devises to the bed and move it as 1 unit instead of having someone push that along separately, trying to keep up. Say you have a patient /w 3 IV pumps and oxygen, you would need at least 4 people to move the patient. With a bed all that can be attached to the bed and only 1 or 2 people to transport, depending on the circumstances.

They would sick during an emergency

I had a friend in the ICU a few years back with pneumonia, the bed adjusted to keep her upper body partially elevated.

They are way ahead of you

Obviously I was suggesting a stopgap solution for desperate hospitals, which I thought they were, or were about to be.

I hope no one thought I was trying to suggest a perfect solution.

From what I'm seeing on tv, they are getting desperate, and probably the most desperately ill would not be put in chairs! And I can't imagine they would put the most critically ill in a tent somewhere with makeshift equipment.

And whoever said they were way ahead of me -

Really? And me just sitting at my breakfast table down here in Texas, and I was sure I knew more than medical designers, and doctors and nurses.

Who do think I think I am? Donald Trump?

I would agree with your suggestion in a heartbeat!

I can’t stand being flat on my back in a bed even without a broken shoulder lol. Always have pillows.

I know mine, is incredibly comfortable.

I'm pretty sure it was less than $500, and it's either leather or a close approximation.

I bought it for my mother back when Macy's was Foley's.

Actual beds are the least of the concern so much as space to put the patients in right now.

A hallway linked with gurneys is more mobile than one lined with recliners. But, it was a nice thought.

It is the equipment and the staff that is going to be a problem.