Machine shop melts plastic to help hospitals
Face shields may seem like a one-time purchase.
But for hospital staff, they replace it every day — or at least they’re supposed to.
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital couldn’t get as many shields as it needed, so staff members started disinfecting and reusing them.
When Ray Karam, CEO of High Temperature Superconductors, heard about the hospital’s need, he reopened his machine shop to make the needed supplies.
“If you can do something, then you should do it,” he said in a news release. “ It’s hard to just sit there and watch the world get sick from this virus and do nothing.”
For weeks, Mr. Karam struggled to find the materials he needed.
He recruited a team to manufacture the gear, and the four-man assembly line churns out 100 shields per day. He hopes to produce 1,000 per day when he gets his machines rolling.
Cottage is already using the shields produced by Mr. Karam and his team. It expects to use at least 5,000 under COVID-19 precautions.
“It feels really good that they are using them and that we contributed,” Mr. Karam said.
If your health care workers need face shields, contact Larry Good at larry.g@hitsuperconductors.com.
email: ahanshaw@newspress.com
