MLGW
workers fight the coronavirus one medical face shield at a time
Five 3-D printers hum and zig-zag a steady and
constant pattern at Reuben Hull’s East Memphis home. All are churning out the
same product: medical face shield frames. Three printers occupy a spare
bedroom. One runs in the hallway and another in a garage workshop.
Among MLGW, Hull and Gerald Jameson are both making
medical face shield frames for Midsouth Makers. Although he doesn’t have a 3-D
printer, IT’s Steven A. Robbins buys rolls of plastic filament needed for the
process.
Hull spends his days as a lead electric maintenance
mechanic at MLGW. Jameson works in MLGW’s Gas Pressure Regulations Department.
At night and on weekends, both are among an army of local volunteers making
medical face mask frames and shields.
“We’ve got something to fight for,” Hull said as he
monitored his machines and checked on their progress. “I don’t want innocent
people to die.”
By helping in the fight, Jameson said, “I have no
doubt we’re having an impact. So far, the group has printed and sent out more
than 7,000 medical face shields.
With MLGW’s emphasis on safety, Robbins with Tech
Support, found the group’s mission a good fit for him professionally as well as
personally. “Two of my relatives are
nurses. They’re on the front lines,” he said.
The nonprofit group gives the face shields to the
Memphis Medical Society to distribute among local hospitals, medical clinics
and doctor’s offices. On Sunday afternoons, Hull and Jameson join other
volunteers with Midsouth Makers in Bartlett. Volunteers (limited to no more
than 10) sanitize and package up frames, face shields and instructions.
Hull found his niche when he saw a news article in
late March about the medical face shields that Midsouth Makers were printing. The
first week he made 217 face mask frames. The second week, he churned out 375
frames. (“I wasn’t sleeping much,” he admitted.)
Jameson got involved after his wife, a seamstress, saw
a post on her Facebook page. “I found
out it was pretty easy,” Jameson said. While he’s at work, he added, “My wife
hits a few buttons and takes the finished ones off and starts it back up for
me.” He continues the process after work.
Memphis Medical Society members finish the final
assembly with the plastic shields before sending them to those on the medical
front lines. If you would like to help buy materials or have a 3-D printer, go
to the Midsouth Makers web site: midsouthmakers.org.
