COVID-19 drives collaboration of community partners

RITZVILLE – Need necessitates invention, and a short supply of masks at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic led East Adams Rural Healthcare CEO Corey Fedie to approach Lind-Ritzville High School Principal Kevin Terris about printing masks for the hospital and clinic, with the school's 3D printer.

Fedie said the collaboration began four months ago, after he saw a clinic in Billings, Montana, was printing masks.

"N95s were still in short supply, and Kevin volunteered over the summer to fire up the printer," Fedie said.

"It started with conversations about what we wanted our kids to experience in school, including hands-on activities and CTE (career tech education) classes," Terris said. The school had purchased the 3D printer three years earlier, along with a vinyl cutter, plasma cutter and wood engraver; tools Terris said students would need to know how to operate when they walk on the job site in many manufacturing jobs.

The 3D printer works like an ink-jet printer, but instead of ink, molten plastic is ejected in two-dimensional layers under the specific instruction of computer software to create a three-dimensional object.

Terris said one main advantage of the 3D printer for students was the analytical skills needed.

"It's how kids learn to problem solve," Terris said. "By designing something to print, and if it doesn't come out, they have to problem solve."

Fedie said Terris had to do some problem solving himself to get the masks to print.

"You get these (computer) files - there are a lot of free programs out there - and sometimes you have to work with them," Terris said. "The mask file came facing one way, and it would start to print and it would fall over. I realized it was printing with the pointed end down, and I had to turn it around so it was flat."

"Kevin put a lot of time into getting it going," Fedie said. "He put a lot more time into the project than I did."

"I love toys, and these are adult toys, so I just took it home and figured it out," Terris said. "I was really excited when we got one done, because when you get the files you don't know if it is really going to work. You have to adjust the temperature to each project."

Terris said the hospital purchased all the filament for making the masks. He said the masks take about three hours to print on the school's 3D printer, plus another 45 minutes for a second piece which holds a disposable filter in place. The filter can be changed out at any time.

Fedie said the hospital would use the plastic masks as a last resort, if they ran out of the N95s.

"If it ramps back up in the cooler weather, we could use these and sanitize them using the UV sterilizer or liquid sanitizer," Fedie said. "So it gives us a solid backup."

"I was excited to see the collaboration to get this done," Vanderholm said.

"It's good for the kids to see the school district and the hospital work together," Fedie agreed. "I see it as two of the larger anchors of the community working together."

Terris said he hoped there were more collaborations to come.

"In our work-based learning and mentorship program, we want to work with the hospital to get the CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) program going and other job shadow opportunities," Terris said.