LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The I.T. department at Norton Healthcare is taking on a new specialty.
Five employees are using their personal 3D printers from home to print personal protective equipment for the hospital’s clinical workers.
Jamie Copeland, a data communications architect with Norton, uses his 3D printer at home to make toys for his daughter.
“Before this, it was like knick-knack stuff like a baby Yoda,” he said.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic rocked Kentucky, he realized he could use his printer to keep health care workers safe and save lives.
“I can work from home out of harm's way,” Copeland said. “But once I realized we could help the people who are on the front line ... I still really feel for those folks, and they’re awesome putting themselves out there like that.”
Copeland and some of his colleagues reached into their own pockets to foot the bill for the materials to make face shields and other parts for PPE.
3D printer makes plastic PPE.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m going to keep printing until someone says, 'Hey, we don’t need you to print anymore,'" he said. "But I don’t know when that will be.”
With the help of an anonymous donation, they’ve made about 70 shields and about 400 other pieces to donate to Norton so far.
“I’m just kind of making them 24/7. That’s the thing,” Copeland said. “It’s pretty neat, but it’s not very fast. It can take ... to do this one, depending on the settings, it’s like seven hours or seven-and-a-half hours.”
Copeland said there was some concern with making face masks up to the proper protective standards, which is why he and his team decided to make shields because the standards “seemed to be less questionable.”
Copeland said his team is doing their part to “help the helpers.”
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