SIU Carbondale manufactures, donates 3D printed face shields to SIH
CARBONDALE — Among the many items essential healthcare workers rely upon to keep them safer during the COVID-19 pandemic is a clear, plastic shield that fits on their head, covering their faces. And, like other items, face shields are running in short supply.
Faculty at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are pitching in to help solve the local shortage.
Lingguo Bu, associate professor of curriculum and instruction, with support from the SIU STEM Education Research Center, on Tuesday delivered about 40 shields to Southern Illinois Healthcare, a major healthcare provider in Southern Illinois. Bu is one of several faculty and students using 3D printing technology housed at the university to manufacture the shields in the face of growing demand.
“We’re glad we can do something to serve the community, which is one of the missions of the university,” Bu said.
SIH officials said the shields are a critical need for their healthcare workers.
“The 3D technology to produce face shields for our healthcare providers is a game-changer,” said SIH Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Harre. “I am so appreciative of the university's efforts to stand in the gap and support us during the COVID-19 crisis.”
SIU faculty and students routinely perform outreach with local agencies. It was one of these service missions — a workshop with local schools — that made the connection and started the process this time. Bu said his son’s fifth-grade teacher at Carbondale’s Lewis School first alerted him to the need for shields locally, as well as available construction plans that could be used to make them.