'The Right Thing To Do': Maryland Thermoform Switches To Producing Face Shields For Those On Front Lines Of Coronavirus Pandemic
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As soon as a southwest Baltimore company became aware that healthcare workers did not have enough of the things they need to protect themselves. they decided to switch over their manufacturing plant to produce what they could.
For the past 30 years, Maryland Thermoform has made things from plastic, including everything from a big clear sphere to the containers used to hold scented wax.
But when the coronavirus pandemic hit the state, it was "catastrophic" for their business, the company's vice president of operations Carl Livesay said.
Half of the company's 30 employees have been furloughed but rolls of plastic sat in their warehouse waiting to be used.
"We asked ourselves, 'What is (it) that we can do to help?" Livesay said.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES:
- Coronavirus Resources: How To Get Help In Maryland
- Coronavirus In Maryland: What We Know
- Coronavirus-Related Closings
- Latest coronavirus stories from WJZ
The answer was cutting the plastic into simple, cheap face shields. Construction couldn't be easier: once the plastic is cut, a decal is applied, followed by elastic and a couple of staples.
"We've donated thousands. We've donated them to police officers, the EMT folks, firefighters, emergency rooms, (the) fire department, even the security guards," he said.
Maryland Thermoform has also made hundreds of splatter shields designed to protect doctors and nurses while they put the tubing for ventilators near patients' lungs.
"It makes our people feel great, it makes us feel great," Livesay said. "... this is the right thing to do, this is what we do as Americans when there's trouble: we step up."
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
