Adirondack Health's frontline staff will now be even safer due to help from some innovative community members.
A group of 3D printers have begun making medical face shields that Adirondack Health doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers will wear to protect themselves from COVID-19.
These shields, worn with other personal protective equipment (PPE) like face masks and gloves, lower the risk of spreading viruses. National shortages of PPE have demanded creative solutions like this.
Tom Broderick, associate head of school at Northwood School in Lake Placid, is coordinating a team of volunteers in conjunction with SUNY Canton, Northwood School, local school districts, and Mountain Orthotic and Prosthetics Services, as well as individual community members.
Tom worked closely with Adirondack Health team members to develop a prototype that would be useful and protective. This week, the team went into full production mode, printing a batch of face shields each day and night.
Once the shields are finished, Tom brings them to Adirondack Health Foundation Executive Director Hannah Hanford, who is coordinating all donations as the community steps up to help with the COVID-19 pandemic. Hannah then has the shields fully sterilized, then put into use by our teams on the front lines.
Anyone interested in helping out with 3D printing can sign up at ny3dnetwork.com.
If you want to help Adirondack Health in some other way right now, click here to find a list of things we could use.
Adirondack Health is so grateful for this and all the other efforts by community members to help out during this difficult time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
