WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Part of being the “community’s college” is responding to community need. That’s exactly what officials at Missouri State University-West Plains have done in recent days as the COVID-19 virus has spread further into south-central Missouri.
Faculty and staff with the technology, allied health and nursing departments have stepped up and donated several critically needed items to Ozarks Medical Center (OMC), including face shields built at the Fab Lab in the Greater Ozarks Center for Advanced Technology (GOCAT).
Dr. Dennis Lancaster, dean of academic affairs, said the effort was the result of “great minds” coming together at the same time.
“We had discussed the possibilities here at Missouri State-West Plains of what we could do to support OMC at this time, and at the same time (OMC President and CEO) Tom Keller asked Chancellor Shirley Lawler about those possibilities,” Lancaster explained.
One turned out to be the construction of 100 face shields in the Fab Lab.
Jim Hart, assistant professor of technology, computer information systems/computer graphics and programming and coordinator of the local Fab Lab, had been discussing with his Fab Lab and Fab Academy colleagues across the nation how they could respond to the pandemic.
After consultation with them and researching face shields, he said, he discovered the lab’s laser cutter would be a viable option for creating the personal protective equipment (PPE).
“The laser cutter cuts 1/4-inch thick acrylic to make the halo and forehead tab, as well as the transparency film to make the face shield that is attached to the halo,” Hart explained. “The cutting process is approximately five minutes per face shield.”
Once cut, a small tab for the forehead rest is glued to the halo. The transparency film is then snapped onto the halo. Weather stripping is applied to the forehead rest, and rubber bands are used to hold the face shield in place, he said.
Hart said he obtained the design from a YouTube video produced by Trotec Laser and made available in PDF format.
The project was presented to OMC officials, who agreed it was a viable solution to their needs. They offered to provide the materials, Hart said, but he is using the materials he has available in the lab to create the current run of shields.
This is just one example of what the Fab Lab and GOCAT can offer the community, Hart and Lancaster said.
“The purpose of a Fab Lab is to be a place in a community where you can learn how to make almost anything,” Hart said. “The GOCAT Fab Lab aspires to continually improve on the essence of the Fab Charter as part of a ‘global network of local labs, enabling invention by providing access to tools for digital fabrication,’” he added. “As a part of the global network, we want to be a pathway for providing ‘a community resource, offering open access for individuals, as well as scheduled access for programs.’”
“Opportunities and new frontiers, both institutionally and personally, are borne out of adversity, and this is a good example,” Lancaster added. “While we have had the capabilities demonstrated by Jim here at the GOCAT Fab Lab, we haven’t been put on the line to use them toward something so critical to our community and our fellow man.
“Technology should be used for the common good. Here’s a situation that has challenged us all to consider what technology we have in hand, what we need to know to extend ourselves and our minds in using it, and then put it into practice for, again, the good of humankind. This will be just the beginning,” he predicted.
Tom Keller, OMC president and CEO, said the support the hospital is receiving from the community is greatly appreciated.
“During this unprecedented time, we are humbled by the amount of support from our community. We are extremely fortunate to have GOCAT in West Plains and are very thankful for the PPE they have provided for us,” he said.
OTHER DONATIONS
In addition to the face shields, officials from the allied health and nursing departments have provided a variety of medical supplies to OMC. These include several boxes of 3M N95 masks and disposable gloves, 10 IV poles, six IV pumps, seven hospital beds, two crash carts, five thermometers, one ventilator, one defibrillator, two vital sign machines and hundreds of temperature probe covers. Several bottles of hand sanitizer also were provided, officials said.
Lancaster said it’s also worth noting that many of our nursing graduates are utilizing their skills on the front lines of this new “war” – at OMC, area urgent care and community health agencies, and other hospitals and clinics in the region.
This is what Missouri State-West Plains’ mission is all about – serving the community through education and, in some instances, material means.
“The mission of Missouri State-West Plains is to be ‘a teaching and learning institution providing quality post-secondary educational opportunities to the communities we serve.’ While we focus on the teaching and learning in our day-to-day activities, the last part of the mission tells we do this – to serve our communities,” Lancaster said.
“When called upon in times like we’re experiencing now, our service goes beyond the classroom. It means taking what we know and what we have in our hands and applying our knowledge and skills to serve our neighbors, all the while serving as a teaching example to our students,” he added.
