Hospitals Get Creative To Solve Face Mask, Shield Shortage During Coronavirus Pandemic
LAFAYETTE, Colo. (CBS4)- In a time when there is a shortage of personal protective gear for health care workers, some hospitals are getting innovative with their solutions. Each day, those on the front lines of coronavirus are faced with new challenges.
"We're not sure what exactly the future is going to be holding, but we're prepared for anything," explained Justin Schmiedel, Chief Operating Officer at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette. "A lot of people use the term unprecedented when they talk about COVID-19, and I think that sums up the sentiment well."
While many hospitals and clinics are struggling to get the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need, supplies at Good Samaritan have been in good shape. However recently, they noticed some face shields of their PAPRs were cracking.
"Those are used as protective gear for our associates when they're treating patients with any illnesses that can be transmitted throughout the air," Schmiedel said. "They were still safe to use by associates but they were causing issues with visibility."
When the hospital began to look for a solution, they found that companies are not currently selling replacement shields.
"There was nothing available because everyone else is in the same situation, looking for the same type of material," explained Brett Bunnell, Good Samaratin's Director of Supply Chain. "We had to figure out how we're going to do this ourselves."
Bunnell was able to find one sheet of the polycarbonate they needed, from a company in Denver called Port Plastics. With that, they were able to come up with a plan to rebuild the shields themselves.
"Our facilities team found the correct cutting tools, to cut the visor. And then we are fortunate to actually have a team here that was already producing and making masks for us," Burnell explained.
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The team making masks was able to use an industrial sewing machine to sew a zipper onto the plastic.
"They were able to rivet in plastic onto the PAPR and after we tested it the first time, it worked great," Bunnell said. "And we knew we had a winner and started going forward with production."
The teams were able to build 16 new face shields right inside the hospital, showing resilience, in uncertain times.
"Whether it's facilities, materials management, our sewers, our respiratory therapists," Schmiedel said. "This was a great example of our team come together, going through obstacles and being persistent and resilient in finding a solution to benefit our associates. We couldn't be prouder of them."
