Help with personal protective equipment for staff and patients
Billings, MT— One of the challenges health care providers are experiencing across the nation is a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including masks. These devices are essential to keeping our staff, our patients and our communities safe.
To bolster the limited supply of PPE masks, Billings Clinic Neurosurgeon, Dusty Richardson, MD, in collaboration with Billings-area dentist Spencer Zaugg, DDS and his son Colton, have tapped into their ingenuity to create durable, reusable plastic masks using 3D printer technology.
The 3D-printed mask has a snap-in section for filtration material that can be changed out as needed. The Flowmark/Hitech Filters company headquartered in Billings is partnering with us to provide 20,000 pieces of filter materials in support of this project. These masks will supplement existing mask supplies.
Our next effort is to activate every 3D printer in our community to produce these masks. Billings Public Schools, Rocky Mountain College, and Montana State University-Billings have all offered to help. We are asking others in our community with access to 3D printers and related supplies to assist in this effort.
Financial support is needed to fund this effort. The Billings Clinic Foundation invites you to support the production of these masks and other needs by contributing to our Innovation Fund. Donations can be made online at https://www.billingsclinic.com/foundation/make-a-gift/make-a-gift-online/ or by contacting Amberly Pahut at apahut@billingsclinic.org or (406) 657-4679.
To assist the health care community locally and nation-wide with similar efforts, information on the mask design, including specifications for this particular mask design is posted online at www.billingsclinic.com/foundation and on www.longliveyoursmile.com. For additional information on how to help Billings Clinic with supplies and printing, please email maskprinting@billingsclinic.org or call (406) 435-MASK (435-6275).
