California 3-D printing company teams with Geisinger for PPE donation
Face shields donated to Evangelical Community Hospital, St Luke’s University Hospital, La Casa Dominicana de Hazleton, Greater Susquehanna Health and EMS outreach services
Sarah Flora, program director of Geisinger’s 3-D Lab, came up with a design for contactless door pulls but needed help in printing enough for the entire hospital. She found help through a from 3-D printing conferences.
“When COVID-19 started to hit our area, Mara Hitner from MatterHackers reached out to see if they could help,” Flora said. “They found resources that could help us keep up with printing demands as well as with the contactless door handles.”
Hitner, director of business development at MatterHackers, found a volunteer group in Pittsburgh that wanted to help. They printed 100 door pulls for Geisinger. MatterHackers, based in Southern California, is one of the largest 3-D printing retailers in the country. They have worked with Geisinger for years and have a second warehouse in York.
MatterHackers established a website for 3-D printing volunteers and medical facilities to connect on needs and resources. The website employs 3-D printers that have offered their equipment and skills to help fulfill PPE needs for frontline workers.
“We have more than 5,000 volunteers signed up to use their idle 3-D printers to print face shields for hospitals in need,” Hitner said. “Through the Maker Response Hub, we have received requests from hospitals, police, fire departments, dental and optometry offices, and emergency vehicle services, just to name a few.”
Hitner and Flora determined that Geisinger could use an additional 5,000 face shields that were ordered from the company and, in return, MatterHackers agreed to donate 5,000 face shields for facilities in Pennsylvania that might not be able to afford the cost.
With the proceeds from the sale, MatterHackers purchased filament for the volunteers, who have been using their own materials and money to develop PPE. MatterHackers then shipped the additional 5,000 face shields to facilities that Geisinger chose, including Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, St Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem, La Casa Dominicana de Hazleton, Greater Susquehanna Health and Geisinger EMS outreach services.
“MatterHackers has really helped us find resources to help with printing demands,” Flora said. “They’re a great company and have been helping a lot around the country.”
“We are so very grateful to have been able to put our 3D printing community to work to help Geisinger through this crisis in whatever tiny way we could, and we truly appreciate your support of our volunteers,” Hitner said. “We look forward to continuing to work together as your internal 3-D printing capacity grows, and as you find new ways to use it for patient care.”
To make a donation in the fight against COVID-19, please visit geisinger.org/FightCovid or call 800-739-6882.
About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
