Face shields for front line workers

In both Columbia and Greenville, a Prisma Health task force has partnered with local entrepreneurs to rapidly develop and manufacture large quantities of protective face shields for Prisma Health’s front-line healthcare workers. Face shields, which are full-face visors worn by workers to help protect their faces from potentially infectious substances, was early-on identified by Prisma Health as a critical-needs manufacturing project to ensure its workers would continue to have access to the equipment regardless of national supply levels.

In Greenville, Jerry Chang, who is a rapid innovation taskforce member, teamed with the group to develop a prototype, test, manufacture and coordinate initial delivery, with the process taking only weeks. Chang is also husband to its Upstate chief medical officer, Dr. Catherine Chang.

“As local entrepreneurs, that’s our job — to make miracles happen,” said Chang, the owner and managing partner of Samaritan Biologics. “I want to thank the generous community partners who donated their time and equipment to help keep our healthcare workers and others safe in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The face shields will be also be shared with first responders, nursing homes and other facilities as needed.

Partners in the Upstate face shield project also included Mitsubishi Polyester Film in Greer, Papers Cutters Inc. in Travelers Rest, American Foam & Fabric in Lyman and Roylco Industrial in Anderson. Students at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, meanwhile, assembled the face shields. The disposable plastic face shields were made at a significant cost savings because most of the work was donated or at reduced cost.

In Columbia, John Carrington is founder and CEO of Zverse, a local firm specializing in prototype design and 3D printing. His team worked with Prisma Health physicians to quickly develop a face shield designed for safety, comfort and a low unit cost. In only two days the first prototype was developed and refined by in-house designers, while Zverse reached out to their U.S. manufacturing partners equipped for mass production. The key component is the headpiece designed to hold the clear disposable visor from ear-to-ear and may be repeatedly sterilized for reuse. Once Zverse’s 3D-printed prototype was approved, their manufacturing partners in South Carolina, North Carolina and Minnesota created injection molds capable of reproducing tens of thousands of units per day and quickly began production.

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