Covid-19 has created a high demand for personal protection
equipment, or PPE, and many healthcare facilities have struggled to keep adequate
inventories of basic items, like face masks and disposable gloves. Montgomery
Catholic Preparatory School computer science teacher Mindy Walski has
volunteered her time with Montgomery Fighting Covid, a local group made up of
volunteers who have 3D printers to help to provide some much-needed PPE for
local hospitals and clinics.
“Basically, what they need right now is face shields,” said
Walski. “The piece that I am printing is the plastic piece at the top that
holds the shield in place.”
The face shields consist of two parts: a clear plastic shield
that blocks droplets and a headpiece that attaches to the clear shield and
allows the it to be worn. The shields are worn along with traditional face
masks and help to add an extra layer of protection and prevent droplet contact
with the eyes.
“Each piece takes about an hour to print, so hopefully we
will be able to get 8 to 10 masks per day,” said Walski. “We bought another
printer, so we should be able to print two at a time.”
Because there are many different people helping the effort,
the files for the 3D printing project are distributed by Montgomery Fighting
Covid, along with a list of preferred printing materials, to help standardize
the production. The organization also handles the assembly and sanitization of
the masks, and will distribute them to hospitals and clinics who need PPE the
most in our community.
