Trying to unwind after a long, hectic day working at UW Health, Leigh Larson couldn’t fall asleep.
As director of Graduate Medical Education and medical staff administration, her mind raced through frightening scenarios that lay ahead for her health care colleagues bracing for the COVID-19 storm.
Both concerned and restless, Larson and her husband Geoff began discussing the ominous headlines about the three-letter acronym Americans now know by heart amid the nationwide shortage of PPE—the personal protective equipment that helps shield doctors, nurses and other health care workers from contracting the virus themselves.
Immediately, Geoff’s thoughts turned to his recent UW Health medical appointments, when he was diagnosed with influenza A and pneumonia. Remembering when the doctor “masked up” and ran his tests, Geoff asked Leigh:
“Was the face shield the doctor wore that day what you guys use?”
With Leigh’s nod, Geoff jumped out of bed and fired up his laptop. Finding a prototype online, the wheels began turning in Geoff’s mind.
“I think we can do this,” Geoff thought determinedly.
Bouncing quickly from his role as helpful husband to his day job as director of the UW–Madison Division of Information Technology’s Digital Publishing and Printing Services (DPPS), Geoff Larson began making plans.
‘We make things happen’
At its Main Production Center at 30 East Campus Mall, DPPS staff print and manufacture pretty much any printed materials the campus needs – from standard course packets, business cards and brochures, to building signs and banners, to sheets of digitally-printed magnets.
As the largest in-house printing operation within the university and State of Wisconsin government, DPPS has the production lines and equipment, and an experienced team.
“We make things happen for people,” Larson says, describing the DPPS “Dirty Dozen” mindset in finding ways to solve problems.
And to help out during a rapidly escalating pandemic, Larson thought, all the DPPS team needed were the right materials and the right plan.
So, the next day, Larson connected with UW Health’s supply chain team to discuss the specifications UW Health requires in face shields—and Larson and his DPPS team were off and running.
DPPS team member Kinho Lee quickly foraged through the websites of Walmart, sewing centers and craft stores to quickly gather the raw materials they needed to assemble the face shields, like strips of latex-free elastic bands.
“We bought everything Walmart.com had,” Larson said. “I’m talking everything.”
DPPS has since secured a reliable supply chain with distributors to support their ongoing production efforts. They already had a source for the sheets of clear acetate needed for the shields, which DPPS uses to make clear protective book covers for spiral bound books. For the foam that rests on the shield wearer’s forehead, Larson’s team found a source in Arizona with available inventory.
Production: up to 1,000 shields per day
After receiving UW Health’s approval of their prototype, the DPPS management team finalized preparation for production of these imported PPE devices. With a request from UW Health to make 12,000 face shields as soon as possible, DPPS is on track to produce a minimum of 1,000 shields a day.
“If we can, we’re going to try to make more,” Larson says. “We’re really going to crank this up and get folks working and get these out to the front-line health care workers who need them.”
And in a serendipitous collaboration of Badger ingenuity, the DPPS team is coordinating with the UW Makerspace. In an effort led by Lennon Rodgers, director of the Engineering Design Innovation Lab, UW Makerspace is working with suppliers of raw materials and a broad range of private and public manufacturers of PPE devices, so that medical providers across the country that need “Badger Shields” can get them.
The shields are critical to UW Health’s ability to keep caregivers safe while treating COVID-19 patients, says Bob Scheuer, UW Health’s director of materials management. Scheuer expressed gratitude for the many offers of help from UW-Madison faculty and students, as well as the surrounding community.
“We are very fortunate to be on the UW-Madison campus and able to take advantage of the great minds and resources,” Scheuer said. “This is enhanced by the ‘can do’ proactive attitude.”
For its part, at the large DPPS print production facility, DPPS workers are easily able to adhere to social distancing, with team members spaced far apart on the second floor, cutting the shield materials to size.
A dumbwaiter sends the materials down to the first floor for assembly, eliminating the need for people to physically interact to hand off materials.
In the assembly line downstairs, workers will put together the shields with a stack of 9×12-inch acetate, pre-cut upstairs with rounded corners, 9-inch strips of adhesive-backed foam, and a bin of 14-inch pieces of elastic, stapled from the back to the front so the wearer’s face won’t get scratched.
Shifts of four people assemble the shields, with two others preparing materials, and another person working in the shipping area. As a safety precaution, the workers will be wearing face shields just like the ones they’re manufacturing, as well as protective gloves.
Larson notes that only employees who expressed interest in assembling the shields are coming in to work, along with those maintaining the essential printing services for the university.
“This is crisis mode. Everybody’s watching national television and they feel helpless,” Larson says. “What I’m hearing from our team is, ‘I’ll work any hours you want. I want to help however I can.’”
‘Santa’s workshop’
“It’s a total team effort in this department, and we have a great working relationship. Everybody’s really excited about this project,” Larson added, noting how each DPPS team member has contributed to make the shield project happen while maintaining essential printing operations for the university.
To name just a few: Production Manager Rich Gassen and Digital Print Manager Margy Baker getting the shop and staff ready for production; Customer Service Manager Sue Lind running the front office, fielding calls and emails and managing two online storefronts; Tom Harron’s on advanced media and IT support; and Kinho Lee, in addition to hunting the internet for face shield supplies, offering business and IT support.
“It’s literally like Santa’s workshop – everybody’s playing a part to get this done,” Larson says.
“We’re in this doom and gloom time, and this is a way they can help at a time when many feel hopeless,” Larson added. “All of our production staff are super hard-working people – they love working for the university, and they’re proud to come in every day.”
And the fact that these shields are going to doctors and nurses at UW Health, just 2.5 miles down Campus Drive and Highland Avenue.
“That just makes it mean so much more,” Larson said.