ST. LOUIS — Throughout the country, the lack of personal protective equipment, known as PPE, is the concern for many medical professionals and it's no different in the St. Louis area.
One community group is making gear to protect the men and women on the frontline of COVID-19.
MADE St. Louis is a place where makers and innovators create inventions. But right now, their biggest project is making face shields for medical staff and first responders.
David Cervantes is a maker. Just one of many, working hard to protect medical staff.
Cervantes says, "Most PPE is in real tight shortage. I came across the formula to make the face shields. BJC has been real cooperative in giving us insightful information."
Since they have the equipment such as 3-D printers and laser cutters, makers are creating face shields.
"The face shield will help protect the mask, N95 masks. It helps protect that respirator from being contaminated, which is in shortage," Cervantes says.
They're making three prototypes. Each prototype will have its own role and designation.
One model has to be fully reusable, as another model has to be extremely tight for intubation procedures.
MADE St. Louis is laser-focused on getting the job done as quickly as possible.
Cervantes adds, "The fact that we are putting aside all of our differences to attain one goal to help each other is amazing. We’re all in this together."
This week, they've already dropped off 100 face shields to SSM Healthcare. Their goal is to distribute 3,000 and continue, as long as needed.
If you'd like to donate, MADE St. Louis has a gofundme set up. The money will go to material items such as sheets and filament.
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