These are challenging times. Like many of our fellow architects, we at Gertler & Wente are constantly looking for ways to help each other overcome this crisis. Recently, we dedicated the use of our 3D printer to create personal protection equipment (PPE) for nearby hospitals. As of this blog post, we are working to make 100 face shields based on an open-sourced project to protect hospital workers treating coronavirus patients in NYC.
We based our visors on files created by SabinLab and Cornell AAP. The simple design consists of a clear plastic shield that covers the face and a printed visor band that fits across the user's forehead. A standard three-hole punch is used to make holes in the plastic shield so it can clip onto the visor. The face shields will help protect our doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals on the front lines at hospitals in New York City.
Producing the face shields has a special meaning for GW's newest team member, Ysabelle Gamoso, who has relatives working at New York Presbyterian, St. Barnabas Hospital, NYC Health + Hospitals - Elmhurst, and Jacobi Medical Center. After the masks arrive at each hospital, they will go through a sanitizing process and then be distributed to the healthcare professionals. The visors, which are based on the 3DVerkstan design, have been tested and verified by Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell's medical school in New York City.
Weill Cornell Medicine estimates a need for 20,000-50,000 protective face shields per day in NYC. If you would like more information on how to donate PPE to our healthcare workers, reach out to getusppe.
Visor band 3D Printing in progress
