Jackson Hospital | Partners | Summer 2020

Breathing easier Masks donated to respiratory team give more peace of mind When the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States, the world saw unprecedented shortages of personal protective equipment. Masks, face shields and gowns were hard to come by. Our community soon recognized the need for PPE at local healthcare facilities and began donating to help keep our staff safe. Dr. David Thrasher, Medical Director of the Respiratory Therapy department at Jackson Hospital, saw this shortage firsthand and knew he wanted to help. Dr. Thrasher began organizing a community-wide effort to ensure the safety of the respiratory therapists he works with every day. Thanks to local donors Larry Puckett Chevrolet and River Bank & Trust, each respiratory team member received an N100 mask! Durable and reusable N100 masks are vitally important pieces of PPE because of their ability to be reused. These masks are made out of du- rable plastic and can be easily sanitized. N100 masks are also easy to safety check. Due to the environment in which these masks are used, the replaceable filters are made to last. They are also more comfortable than the standard N95 masks. All of these features help put the respiratory team at ease, knowing they are safe and protected. We are thankful for Dr. Thrasher, Larry Puckett Chevrolet, and River Bank & Trust for donating these much-needed masks. When our staff is safe and protected, they are able to perform lifesaving tasks for the patients in our community. David Thrasher, MD Grassroots to global effort Montgomery Fighting COVID is on a mission to keep healthcare workers safe Barbara Van de Water was in the middle of her medical student clinical rotations at Jackson Hospital when COVID-19 appeared in the United States. Amid preparations for COVID-19 at the hospital, medical schools such as the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in Dothan began pulling students, like Barbara, from medical facilities. Barbara and her husband, Scott, quickly recognized the need for personal protective equipment and came up with a plan to make face shields for medical professionals fighting against the virus. Barbara and Scott began producing face shields with the help of a 3-D printer, taking roughly three hours to print each frame. An outpouring of support As word spread of their efforts, 30 more community members, from high school students to tech gurus, volunteered their own 3-D printers to help. Maxwell Air Force Base and local schools—includ- ing Pike Road, Montgomery Academy, Trinity and Alabama State University—began printing when they heard about the mission as well. At the peak of production, the group known as Montgomery Fighting COVID had nearly 40 printers producing face shields. With an outpouring of support, Barbara and Scott joined forces with Vaughn Forest Church to help them manage donations, stor- age space, and volunteers. Vaughn Forest Church became a hub for drop-offs, pick-ups and assembly of the 3-D printed face shields. A movement without borders Montgomery Fighting COVID is not just a local movement but part of a much larger, worldwide effort producing PPE for frontline healthcare workers. The design for the face shields, called “The Prusa,” was created in the Czech Republic, and the printing process was refined in the San Francisco Bay Area. Groups all over the country began printing, including the Montgomery group and an additional group in Huntsville. With the help of 40 volunteers in the River Region and over 500 volunteers in the state of Alabama, Montgomery Fighting COVID united with Alabama Fighting COVID and collabo- rated to produce the face shields through injection mold- ing. The injection molding process takes place in Vinemont, Alabama, in a facility that is capable of producing 3,000 face shields per day. Over 7,000 face shields have been distributed locally, and over 31,000 statewide. Barbara Van de Water jackson.org 11