As a record number of Americans are infected with COVID-19, largely due to the rapidly spreading omicron variant, some states' health care systems are beset with nearly full intensive care units.

Four states have less than 10% remaining capacity in their ICUs, according to data Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana and New Hampshire.

And as infection spreads, states and health care systems nationwide are handling shortages of available medical workers, who face a greater chance of COVID-19 exposure and must isolate after testing positive.

Members of the National Guard and other federal emergency teams have been deployed to hospitals and long-term care facilities in places such as New Hampshire to alleviate the burden with medical and non-medical tasks.

"This is part of the winter surge, part of the long haul, which is why we put so many of the mitigation strategies and measures in place early on to help provide some flexibility to hospitals and health care systems," New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday.

Five other states are very close to just 10% of ICU capacity remaining, according to HHS data: New Mexico, Missouri, Rhode Island, Mississippi and Georgia. Nationally, COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached record highs with at least 151,261 Americans need care as of Wednesday.

Early research indicates the omicron variant may produce less of a chance of needing hospitalization than prior COVID-19 variants. But omicron's increased transmissibility means more people at higher risk for severe disease, such as those who are unvaccinated or immunocompromised, will be infected.

"Omicron continues to burn through the commonwealth, growing at levels we have never seen before. Omicron is significantly more contagious than even the delta variant," said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Monday. "If it spreads at the rate we are seeing, it is certainly going to fill up our hospitals."

While conditions are not as dire as at the start of the pandemic nearly two years ago due to the availability of vaccines and other treatment options, the staffing shortages in hospitals is a real concern during this latest surge, said Dr. Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

"The problem is that right now we have hospitals where there's not enough nurses to take care of the patients who are coming in, the COVID patients and the non-COVID patients," Spencer told CNN Wednesday.

"That's exactly why we need to do everything we can to try to limit the number of people that are infected, not just those that are older or unvaccinated or not boosted, but everyone. Because each infection represents a potential to infect more people. We need to do what we can to slow that spread right now and ease the pressure on our hospitals," Spencer said.

For those who come into emergency rooms for non-COVID reasons yet test positive, hospitals are still having to invoke quarantine protocols for those patients which puts a strain on operations, he said. And that can have an effect on all patients.

"Right now, we're still seeing sick people that need oxygen, the overwhelming majority of which are unvaccinated. But a lot of the patients that we're seeing right now have underlying chronic conditions that are being exacerbated," Spencer said.

Those patients, he said, can include "someone who gets COVID is dehydrated and needs to stay in the hospital, or someone who gets COVID and is too weak and they can't go home because they're a fall risk. Those aren't as bad in one sense as those kind of classic COVID patients we were seeing before. But every single patient that needs to stay in the hospital takes up a bed. And beds and staffing are what's in short supply right now."

CDC to update mask guidance

Health experts are reiterating the need to wear quality masks as never-before-seen figures of positive COVID-19 cases strike the country.

The U.S. averaged more than 771,580 new COVID-19 cases daily over the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data, more than three times that of last winter's peak average.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to update information about mask-wearing, including the different levels of protection that various masks — such as cloth, surgical or N95 — provide against the spread of COVID-19, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House virtual briefing Wednesday.

Overall, it is important for people to wear any face mask that they have access to, "but Omicron has changed things a bit because it is so transmissible that we know that masks are even more important," Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, told CNN Wednesday.

"And if you have the chance, if you have the opportunity, if you have access to a better mask, then the recommendation would be to wear it," she said, adding that N95 and KN95 masks need to be fitted properly to provide the best protection possible.

Vaccines effective with adolescents, study shows

The rate of deaths in the U.S. has remained lower than during last year's winter surge, which is often credited to around two-thirds of Americans eligible for vaccines being fully inoculated, according to the CDC.

The country has averaged 1,817 COVID-19 deaths a day over the past week, JHU data shows. The peak daily average was 3,402 one year ago on Jan. 13, 2021.

However, the latest CDC ensemble forecast predicts a potential 62,000 new COVID-19 deaths over the next four weeks, meaning preemptive vaccinations are still needed.

The age group of Americans who are the least vaccinated remains those under the age of 18, and a new study of real-world hospital data between July and late October points to the effectiveness of vaccinations even for those who, by being younger, are generally at lesser risk.

The findings, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine appears to be 94% effective against COVID-19 hospitalization among adolescents ages 12-18 in the U.S.

"Vaccination averted nearly all life-threatening COVID-19 illness in this age group," wrote the researchers from the CDC and a collection of hospitals and universities, who found that far more adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19 were unvaccinated compared with those who were hospitalized for other reasons.

Among the hospitalized adolescents with COVID-19, 4% were fully vaccinated, less than 1% were partially vaccinated, and 96% were unvaccinated. In comparison, of those who did not have COVID-19, 36% were fully vaccinated, 7% were partially vaccinated, and 57% were unvaccinated.

OMAHA, Neb. —

Doctors and nurses in the ICU are approaching two full years of pandemic pressure. But public support for frontline workers has taken a back seat.

"We're here to help, but we also need you to help. We also need the public to help," said Haleigh Seizys, an ICU nurse at Nebraska Medicine.

As the pandemic rolls into a third year, that help can be as simple as sending donuts.

"You feed my nurses and they'll be happy," said Kim Olson, an ICU charge nurse at Bergan Mercy in Omaha, Nebraska.

But ICU nurses say you can make the biggest difference by taking precautions to mitigate hospitalizations.

"For the past two years, our world has honestly been turned upside down," said Olson.

But the days of banging pots and pans to thank our health care heroes are bygone, while the virus is as vicious as ever.

"I can't speak to my patients, because they're struggling so much. I've had way more experience with death in two years, than I ever thought I would in a lifetime," said Seizys, who feels public support for doctors and nurses has plateaued. "I wish that people could understand the exhaustion of just the overworked staff."

Some people do, especially those who have witnessed the crush of COVID-19 first-hand.

"We have had phenomenal care," said Amy Crosby. Her 1-year-old has Down syndrome and is hospitalized with COVID-19 right now. "I don't think some of the health care people take credit for all that they do for the families."

As a nurse herself, Crosby appreciates how health care workers put on a brave face for patients and frightened families.

"I feel like they've just been my good friends or my girlfriends through this whole process," said Crosby.

Patients, like family members, recognize what their nurses are going through. Marvin Brinkman was in the ICU at Bergan Mercy last month.

"The ICU stay really showed me the pressure that a lot of the nurses and doctors were under," said Brinkman, who had brain surgery and said there were COVID patients in the unit.

Some fear those pressures of the pandemic could cause mistakes in high-stakes environments.

"I think that that's always a concern," said Brinkman. "I could tell that they were stretched thin."

Those on the front lines say advertising our appreciation is more important than ever, as health care workers leave the profession in droves.

"We need those very skilled nurses taking care of us, otherwise we're going to be regretting it," said Brinkman.

For nurses, the exhaustion they’re experiencing right now is unprecedented. It is spurred in part by mandatory overtime.

"Every day continues to get harder," said Olson. As cases rise, support seems to be slipping away. “From an ICU standpoint, we're drowning, emotionally and physically."

Even so, they continue to show up, shift after shift.

"You don't lose the passion for nursing," said Olson.

They say a simple 'thank you' can sustain them during their darkest days.

"We have seen the most amazing support from both patients, families and friends."

CINCINNATI —

The community is making a difference and sending holiday cheer to a west side fourth-grader spending Christmas in the ICU.

Kennedy Ross is a quadriplegic who continues to defy all odds.

"All the bad things have mostly happened in the past, so I just try to put that all behind me," Ross told WLWT from her hospital bed.

It's an outlook that's beyond her years, but one she has maintained for as long as she can remember.

At just 3 years old, little Kennedy was involved in a car accident, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down.

"She really never ever made an excuse for her disability at all," Ross' mom, Kiara Whitmire said.

Now in fourth grade at Roselawn Condon Elementary School, the 10-year-old is at the top of her class, making straight A's every single year.

Recently, things took a turn for the worse though when Kennedy contracted pneumonia and a bad cold.

"They had to revive Kennedy and she just keeps trying, she's been in ICU for about a month," Whitmire said.

Teachers and classmates continue to send her videos to brighten her day, and Kennedy's mom is looking to make this Christmas season the brightest of them all.

"I know every parent wishes they can give their child the world and that's what I'm trying to do, I know I probably cant give her that but I want to try to get close to it," Whitmire said.

The family is raising money to give her something she's always dreamed of.

Ross told us what that was.

"I really want to go to Disney World," Ross said.

They also want to inspire others this holiday season, if this little girl can smile through so much, maybe we can try doing the same, when times get tough.

"She said mommy, I'm OK, and to hear her say that, I was crying and it made me better," Whitmire said.

NORMAN, Okla. —

An Oklahoma man was reunited with the doctors who saved his life after going into cardiac arrest.

Christopher Fennell was having dinner while visiting his son in Norman, Oklahoma. And as they were leaving a restaurant, Fennell fell to the ground and went into cardiac arrest, which led to a brain seizure.

"I was basically dead, and they brought me back," he said.

His son is now a junior at the University of Oklahoma and is studying pre-med. He knew exactly what to do to keep his father alive until paramedics arrived.

"The quick action of my son to call 911 and then hand the phone to my wife, who was in shock and started CPR was, I mean, I wouldn’t be here without that," Fennell said.

Fennell was taken to the hospital, where he stayed in the ICU for 10 days.

"Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest does not have a very good prognosis overall," Dr. Archana Gautam said.

Fennell was later sent to rehab, where he was able to get additional treatment and fully recover.

"To see someone physically recover and cognitively recover after a cardiac arrest is rare," said Dr. Lane Tinsley.

Fennell said without the quick medical attention from his son, paramedics and the doctors — he wouldn’t have fully recovered.

"All of these things God put in place, put breadcrumbs down on the ground to get me here, for the great people here to continue my recovery, put me on the road to recovery and get me back in the position I am in today," he said. "I am a walking miracle, but this is not a story about me. This is a story about how God works in the world today."

Kevin Prindle has been spending a lot of nervous hours in an Indianapolis hospital.

"I never would have imagined that I would've spent, you know, two weeks of the first two months of my sons' lives in the ICU," he said.

Nurses and doctors are treating his 3-month-old twin sons, Harper and Kennedy, who were born premature and are now fighting a respiratory virus called RSV. Prindle believes the twins caught RSV from their older siblings.

"I'm running on coffee and prayers at the moment," Prindle said.

Doctors say RSV itself is fairly common. For most kids, symptoms are like the common cold. But in some cases RSV can inflame the lungs and make it tough to breathe. And the timing of the spike in cases happening now around the country is a bit of a medical mystery.

Newsy asked pediatric infectious disease specialist, Dr. Samuel Dominguez, how unusual it is for doctors to see the disease in the summer.

"This is extremely unusual," he said. "And during my whole career I've never ever seen RSV in the summer."

At Children's Hospital Colorado, they're blaming RSV for a 60 percent spike in kids admitted to intensive care units and as much as a 50 percent jump in emergency room visits.

"It is serious," Dominguez said. "And we, we are concerned about these kids and we want to keep them as healthy and get them ... better as quickly as possible."

RSV cases are climbing across the South, in the Southwest and Midwest and Kentucky, where doctors are warning parents to watch for red flags. 

Pediatrician Dr. Elizabeth Hawse said to look for "nostrils flaring, really moving the chest and stomach to breathe. Like, usually, we just breathe very easily with our chest. Babies can do something called grunting ... with every breath."

Why the summer spike? One theory is that, normally, older kids are exposed to RSV at school in winter months. But with masks, social distancing and remote learning last school year, young immune systems didn't get a chance to build up a defense.

"When you get exposed to viruses over and over again you get a little bit of a boost in your immune system against those viruses," Dominguez said. "Now we have a whole other year of kids who had no exposure to RSV, and so we have a large number of kids who are more susceptible to getting RSV and potentially more severe RSV.

Newsy asked what advice Dominguez has for parents as more kids got back into classrooms and whether they should be factoring in potential RSV exposure in deciding whether to have their children wear a mask at school.

"We support wearing masks in school," Dominguez said. "I think that's the best protection we can provide for actually all respiratory viruses and so it will not only protect kids from the spread of SARS COVID, too, but also protect kids against the spread of RSV."

While it is RSV that's driving the spike in admissions at places like Children's Hospital Colorado, doctors worry that kids who are exposed to the virus may be more susceptible to the impacts of COVID-19. That is why they are urging anyone who's around kids to get the COVID vaccine, wear a mask indoors and if a child is sick – don't send them to school. 

This story was originally reported by Clayton Sandell on Newsy.com.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled over the past three weeks, with 83,693 people hospitalized this week, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

There are no ICU beds are left in the entire state of Alabama, Dr. Don Williamson, president of Alabama Hospital Association, told Birmingham sister station WVTM-TV.

"We have never been here before. We are truly in uncharted territory," Williamson told the TV station.

Earlier Tuesday, Alabama was down to just two ICU beds. The Alabama Hospital Association issued a statement:

"We represent health care providers who have seen far too many of our fellow citizens become ill and die because of this disease, including children," the AHA and several other health care organizations said.

"We join all of you in wanting this to go away, but for that to happen it's going to take all of us. We respectfully request that those currently unvaccinated reconsider their decision. The benefits of getting vaccinated FAR outweigh any potential risk."

Alabama has 1,562 staffed intensive care unit beds and 1,560 patients in need of ICU care, AHA Executive Vice President Rosemary Blackmon told CNN. The Alabama Department of Public Health said 2,631 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 complications.

In Tennessee, "We are prepared to deploy additional medical personnel from the Tennessee National Guard to our hospitals in greatest need of assistance," the state health department wrote in a letter Monday.

In Kentucky, hospitals are starting to cancel or postpone surgeries that would require post-operative admission to the hospital, state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said.

"ICU and ventilator data — it is a vertical climb," Stack said Tuesday. "There's no sign it is abating. We are already just shy of our all-time record. Another day or two, we'll be past that record for ICUs."

Thousands more students are forced to stay home

More than 3,000 students and employees have been quarantined in the New Orleans Public School District due to COVID-19 cases in the past week, according to the district's latest tally.

That represents 5.89% of all students and teachers in the school district.

In Florida, 5,599 students and 316 employees in in Hillsborough County Public Schools were in isolation or quarantine as of Monday morning due to COVID-19 cases, according to the school district.

At least 577 students and 352 employees have tested positive this month, according to the district's COVID-19 tracker.

The Hillsborough County School Board said it will have an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss COVID-19 mitigation strategies — which may include "mandatory face coverings for all students and staff."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office has said the state could withhold salaries of officials who impose mask mandates in schools.

But most Americans — 69% — support local school districts requiring everyone to wear masks when inside schools, according to Axios-Ipsos poll results published Tuesday.

A majority, 77%, oppose state governments withholding funding from school districts or local governments that implement mask mandates.

The poll, which was conducted Aug. 13 to 16 and made up of a nationally representative sample of 1,041 U.S. adults, also found that 64% of Americans support state and local governments requiring masks in all public places.

The US is 'flying blind' on the full extent of COVID-19 and kids

Doctors say one way to help students stay in classrooms is to have students — particularly those who are not vaccinated — wear masks in school, health experts say.

"It shouldn't be for months. It shouldn't be forever. But right now, when people are coming back in, masking is a reasonable public health step," said Dr. Brett Giroir, former assistant secretary for health in the Trump administration.

"I support it and encourage parents to encourage their children to do it."

During this delta variant surge, COVID-19 hospitalizations have soared among children. But the total number of severe pediatric cases is unknown.

"Only 23 states and New York City actually report the number of children in hospitals," said Giroir, a pediatrician. He said Texas and Florida are among the states where the total number of child COVID-19 hospitalizations are unknown.

"Talking about flying blind, relative to children," Giroir said. "We need better data, and that's got to be the basis for action."

Giroir said it's important to remember the risk of long COVID for some who get COVID-19 — "meaning for months they'll be in pain, they'll be fatigued, they'll have brain fog, because their memory centers in their brain shrink."

Because COVID-19 vaccination is only available for Americans ages 12 and up, face masks play a key role in helping children avoid the Delta variant — and keeping students in school instead of quarantine, CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen said.

If students are going to be in a room before they can all be vaccinated, it is crucial to have proper testing, ventilation and masking, Wen said.

"Why wouldn't we want every single tool at our disposal to help to keep our children safe at this point?" she said.

'The delta variant ... is because of unvaccinated reservoirs'

About 50.9% of Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That leaves plenty of chances for the highly contagious delta variant to spread, send more people to hospitals and prevent more students from learning in classrooms.

"The delta variant that we're dealing with is because of unvaccinated reservoirs," said Dr. Chris T. Pernell, fellow at the American College of Preventive Medicine.

"When we have a significant portion of the population (unvaccinated) ... the virus runs amok. It has free course to mutate and to try to get ahead of the interventions and immune system."

Booster shots might be available in the coming months

Fully vaccinated people might be able to get more protection against COVID-19 in the form of a booster shot in the coming months.

On Monday, Pfizer and BioNTech said they submitted initial data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to support the use of a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The dose elicited a significantly higher antibody response against the initial strain of coronavirus and the Delta and Beta variants compared to what was seen among people who got two doses, they said.

The booster dose seemed to be equally protective against the Delta and Beta variants as against the original strain of novel coronavirus.

But "that's actually ... not answering the key question we have remaining right now," Wen said. "The key question is: How quickly does immunity wane after the first two doses?"

With the more transmissible Delta variant spreading, top officials in the Biden administration are coming to an agreement that most Americans should get a booster shot eight months after being fully vaccinated, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The Biden administration's plan, which is still being developed, would involve administering third shots beginning in mid- to late September, one source told CNN, pending authorization from the FDA.

Because health care workers and nursing home patients were first to receive their shots, the administration expects they'll be first to receive boosters as well.

Last week, the FDA authorized third doses for some people who are immunocompromised. The CDC almost immediately recommended giving those doses.

Hospitals feeling the weight of the increase

Forty states are seeing a surge in the average number of new cases compared to the week before, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And the impact can be seen in strained health care systems.

Cases in Mississippi have continued to rise, with the latest data from the state department of health showing 7,839 new cases and 52 new deaths in the three days to August 15.

In response to the record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the University of Mississippi Medical Center said a second field hospital is being constructed in one of its parking garages.

The field hospital will have critical care capacity and care for up to 32 patients at a time, the medical center said.

In Texas, following a review of the rise in fatalities, the Department of State Health Services submitted a request for five mortuary trailers as "a normal part of preparedness to have these available to support local jurisdictions in case they need them," DSHS Press Officer Douglas Loveday said.

Like the governor of Florida, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning school districts from requiring masks.

Texas and Florida lead the nation in pediatric hospitalizations.

As of Monday, 239 Texas children were hospitalized with COVID-19, according to HHS data. Texas had 170 children hospitalized with COVID-19.

A New Orleans family breathed a huge sigh of relief just one day after their patriarch Erroll Windon was released from a hospital in Baton Rouge, following a hard battle with COVID-19.

Windon is a COVID-19 breakthrough case. The 71-year-old is fully vaccinated and spent about 10 days inside of the hospital.

"We feel that the vaccine coupled with his faith, our faith, and prayer gave him a fighting chance," said Stacey Windon-Matthews, Erroll Windon's daughter.

Erroll explained his condition when first arriving at the hospital.

"When I first got here, the oxygen was not working. They had to move me to ICU," Erroll Windon said.

Members of Erroll's family said he has high blood pressure and is borderline diabetic.

"They said you will probably have to go on a ventilator. I said, 'No doc I want to talk to my wife.' He said, 'Call her right now,'" Erroll said.

For his entire family, along with his daughter Stacey and son-in-law Kenneth, the hope was always that he would pull through.

"When I heard, it made my heart drop. But deep in my heart, I felt this vaccine will give him a fighting chance," Stacey said.

Erroll's grandson, Kenneth Matthews III, had a message played to his grandfather while still in grave condition.

Stacey said, "He sent it to my dad. And four hours later, he got out of ICU."

The couple said it was the prayer of their son and prayers from hundreds of people around the country that helped Erroll recover. Another huge help was that Erroll was vaccinated.

In fact, Erroll said doctors told him it was the vaccine that kept him alive.

"He said, 'That vaccine kept you alive. It was fighting for you,'" Erroll said.

"If it were not for that vaccine, he would not have made it at the age of 71 with underlying health conditions," Stacey said.

After witnessing part of the horror of COVID-19, the family has a message for those still on the fence about taking the shot.

"People take the flu shot and all of these other shots. We do not know what is in them but they help. If you can get vaccinated, which is really easy now. Do it. It saved my father-in-law and I feel it gives me a sense of protection," said Kenneth Matthews Junior, Erroll's son-in-law.

Erroll and his family wanted to thank all of the health care heroes that helped him and continue to help him on his journey to full recovery, including his own son-in-law and daughter-in-law who is a nurse at the very overwhelmed hospital where he was admitted.

A 28-year-old woman who caught COVID-19 and did not get a vaccine said getting the shot will be one of the first things she does when she is able and out of the hospital.Claire Pride, of Madison, Mississippi, said she was in the ICU at Baptist Hospital in Jackson for five nights while she battled COVID-19 for nearly two weeks."It was truly a nightmare that at points, I thought, 'I don't know that I'll wake up from this. It will be like this the rest of my life,'" said Pride.Pride said she did not have any underlying health conditions before she got sick. She said she did not think she would get the virus because of her age.Pride said, "I did have that mentality and I hate that I had to learn from my mistake."Pride said she plans to get an appointment to get vaccinated because she said she never wants to end up back in the hospital.

While most American adults have been vaccinated, people in some states are still hesitant to get their shots.

In Missouri, hospital space is now a concern as COVID-19 cases go up.

"Should we start to see a high number of COVID patients like they are there, we're going to be very challenged with how many beds that we have available," Steve Hoeger of the MARC Health Care Coalition said.

A Springfield, Missouri, hospital has opened its sixth COVID-19 ward as the delta virus variant rages in the state's southwest region.

Chief Administrative Officer Erik Frederick says the hospital needed at most five virus wards last year. Frederick has tweeted that many people in local rural areas are unvaccinated.

He also says people from rural areas don't have nearby hospitals, so they come to Mercy Hospital in Springfield.

About 56% of adults in Missouri have gotten at least one vaccine shot. That vaccination rate is about 12 points lower than the national rate.

Simon Kaufman and Alex Livingston contributed to this report.

CHICAGO, Ill. – A heartbreaking reality for patients hospitalized with coronavirus is being inaccessible to their families. Something as simple as a phone charger could turn into a lifeline.

Stephen Hefler, a 77-year-old retired Navy doctor, was not doing well.

“He wasn't eating. He wasn't drinking. He was starting to become slightly delirious and confused,” said his son, Jon.

Two days in a Florida intensive care unit and without a phone charger, the only connection to his family was about to end.

“That's when they said ‘Look, everything's crashing, he’s on full life support, he’s on a ventilator, he's on full dialysis because his kidneys have failed. You need to say goodbye,’” said Jon Hefler. “And we said well ‘how are we supposed to talk with him? His phone is dead.’”

Hefler’s nurse came to the rescue getting a charger from her home for him to use.

“I think it made all the difference,” said Hefler.

It’s something Megan Tress, a nurse practitioner has seen all too often.

“Probably every day, there’s at least one or two nurses on every unit trying to search for a cell phone charger,” she said.

Tress has since started collecting chargers, hundreds of them, all to be donated to hospitals around the country.

The nurse turned phone charger crusader says she’s already been able to distribute to hospitals in at least 10 states and will soon go nationwide.

“We now have a

Google form

that people can fill out if they want these for their hospital,” she said.

Tress has joined forces with Jon Hefler to help hospitals build up a stockpile of universal chargers.

“It turns out no hospitals anywhere provide chargers in the room because they never had to,” said Hefler.

They’re on track to raise $100,000 for the effort. The

mission

is to raise awareness and make sure every patient alone in an ICU and beyond has a chance to hear the voice of a loved one.

“So, if we could get 100,000 chargers out there to all hospitals and quarantine zones that need them, that would be a win,” said Hefler.

“And so, it really could be the difference between life and death,” said Tress.

After three weeks on a ventilator, twice considered the end for Dr. Hefler, he fought through and is now breathing almost completely on his own.