Henry Ford Health Staff Creates Personal Protective Equipment
Detroit - Amid supply shortages of personal protective equipment at hospitals nationwide, Henry Ford Health System employees have taken the initiative to create their own homemade face masks and eye protection. Keeping their healthcare professionals safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an article on Henry Ford Health System's website, the staff is creating PPE gear from everyday items. CEO of the Henry Ford Innovation Institute, Scott Dulchavsky, M.D. said, "There is a critical shortage of the personal protective equipment our healthcare providers need. In response to that, staff from across Henry Ford are creating homemade eye protection and face masks that are washable, do not degrade if placed into a bleach cleaning solution, and can be reused, within reason."
They have used materials such as: nylon jersey fabric, elastic bands, Velcro, tongue depressors, and air filter material.
They said while they hope to replenish their PPE stockpiles, they plan on ramping up production of these re-usable items to 500 to 1000 units daily at hospitals in their systems across Michigan.
Henry Ford Innovation Institute's Alex Moceri said in the article, "It's a very crafty and helpful way to replace what we don't have," Moceri said. "I think it's phenomenal that we are coming together as a system and doing something about this problem. We have to do everything we can to keep our teams healthy so they can continue caring for our patients in need."
© 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Information from HenryFord.com Contributed to this report.
