Conway native and CCU team up to create N95 masks for hospitals
Conway native and Citadel senior West Courtney learned of a need that could save lives in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, and he didn’t just get involved, he took the lead.
Courtney’s business innovation professor, James Bezjian, was approached by the Medical University of South Carolina about helping to innovate and produce N95-style respirator masks that can protect medical personnel from contracting the virus.
More than 40 MUSC health care workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
Courtney and Bezjian have become close through some off-campus projects, so Bezjian told his student about MUSC’s request that included using the Citadel’s 3D printer classroom to produce the masks.
“He told me what he was doing and I asked how I could help him,” Courtney said. “He said really just finding more people with these printers is what we need to do to make it feasible to have enough for MUSC and the local areas. So I got to calling people around Conway and Horry County.”
Courtney’s outreach first led to the involvement of Coastal Carolina, and the project has grown into a statewide movement to print the masks for MUSC and other hospitals that he hopes will extend beyond the state in the near future.
“I saw a need to help and I took it, so that’s really all I’ve been doing,” Courtney said.
Courtney contacted CCU trustee Will Turner, who turned to school president David DeCenzo, and DeCenzo issued a call for institutions and organizations across the state to contribute their 3D printers to the cause.
The S.C. Commission for Higher Education applied for and received funds from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to support state universities in printing the masks.
Coastal is using 10 3D printers inside Kimbel Library to print masks and cartridges that are later assembled at The Citadel with filters and delivered to MUSC.
The Citadel has four printers and has ordered three more, S.C. State purchased printers to get involved, and Courtney contacted Santee Cooper, which used its school liaisons to enlist the help of school districts in Berkeley, Williamsburg and Georgetown counties, with Berkeley utilizing 50 printers.
“With Coastal and The Citadel and Berkeley County cranking out as many as we are, it’s going to exponentially skyrocket,” Courtney said.
The masks sit for 72 hours of quarantine to ensure their safety. Courtney delivered the first batch of 30 to MUSC on Monday and there are 90 more currently in quarantine.
“We’re working to create more volume so we can help all the local hospital systems in South Carolina,” Courtney said.
The initiative should grow with the involvement of the Golf Tourism Solutions marketing and technology agency based in Myrtle Beach. Courtney’s former roommate at Citadel was Will Golden, the son the GTS president and CEO Bill Golden, and GTS has created the website www.MaskImpact.com, which includes registration to receive instructions on how to produce the masks and a donation link.
“We’re using the social media hashtag #MaskImpact to start trending this story on social media so hopefully the entire state and entire nation can see what we’re doing and bounce off of that to help their local communities,” Courtney said.
Courtney said MUSC received rapid approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its model, which is still awaiting a final blanket approval for use elsewhere.
In addition to the assembly and distribution center set up at Citadel, a Rotary Club in Columbia donated time to assemble the masks, and Courtney said a business in Murrells Inlet may soon begin assembling them. “We’re just working out the details,” he said.
The University of South Carolina is involved in a separate 3D printer project that is producing personal protective equipment including face shields for hospitals, and the two groups have discussed joining forces, Courtney said.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 11:03 AM.
