The COVID-19 pandemic is placing unprecedented strain on the world’s healthcare system. Daily, healthcare professionals are facing life-threatening risks due to shortages of protective medical gear. Countries are scrambling to meet the urgent demand, and unconventional manufacturers are emerging in this all-out effort.
Temporarily moved to the basement of a St. Croix Catholic School family’s home, the school’s two 3D printers are a part of one such unconventional manufacturing operation. Brian York, a technology and process improvement professional at EY, and an involved father at St. Croix Catholic School, responded to a March 28th call from his former high school physics teacher, Mark Westlake, to join a grassroots effort in deploying idled 3D printers to create components needed for medical face shields.
Brian shared, “Mark was my physics teacher, cross country ski coach, and mentor (and now friend) while I was a student at St. Thomas Academy (STA). He is now the head of the Innovation Center at STA, which provides real-world engineering experiences for high school students. Mark reached out to me to ask if I could print components with my 3D printer and see if there were others with idle printers who could join the project. I thought of the 3D printers that St. Croix Catholic uses in its middle school engineering courses and was thrilled when the school responded quickly and with enthusiasm to join in the effort. We now have three 3D printers working around the clock in our basement. With the help of the SCCS printers, I have been able to deliver 98 face shield components so far. It seems like a small number, but with 1,000 other people working together, we'll get the tens of thousands we need.”
Brian and his wife, Kim, have six children. Jacob graduated from St. Croix Catholic School in 2019 and is currently a freshman at Chesterton Academy. Peter (7th grade), Leah (6th grade), Alex (4th grade), and Zaylie (Ark of Angels) are all currently engaged in St. Croix Catholic’s Home Learning program. The family’s youngest is Charlotte (3). “This manufacturing operation has become a family affair,” says Brian. “The older kids have been involved in directing the 3D printers to print designs and remove the parts when they are complete. The entire family feels a sense of satisfaction in being able to make a difference for health care workers and patients during this very difficult time. I’m grateful to Mark for reaching out and to St. Croix Catholic for generously donating the use of its printers to this very important cause. It’s a community-wide response of compassion.”
If you or someone you know has access to additional 3D printers that could possibly be deployed in this effort, please contact Brian at [email protected] or Mark Westlake at [email protected]