EHS engineering teachers produce face shields for healthcare workers

With medical supplies in short supply all around the state and country, Enterprise High School’s engineering program has stepped up to produce face shields for healthcare workers.

The University of Alabama’s engineering program “The Cube” created a face shield design – for 3D printing – and made it available for free to use. Ben Scheierman – who works with the state’s career tech program – reached out to high school engineering programs around the state and EHS teachers Nick Ciuzio and Josh King were ready to jump on board immediately.

“It was a purpose for us in this void in the virus age,” Ciuzio said. “It kind of re-centered us and gave us a chance to use our technology and do community service at the same time. So, it was kind of a win/win and it was good to have something to look forward to.”

King said that it was an easy decision to jump on board.

“I was on board from the start,” King said. “It gave me something to do and be able to contribute something.”

King and Ciuzio used the EHS “Fab Lab” to produce the frames, reinforcements and “ear saver” clips. “Ear savers” are clipped to the back of the face shields to take some of the pressure from the elastic off the users ears. EHS student Ryan Parrott – who has a 3D printer at his home – also jumped in to help produce some of the frames.

Ciuzio and King said that it took up to 21 hours to print those pieces and they managed to produce four at a time using plastic that they already had for use in making Boll Weevil monuments that the engineering program sells for $10 to help fund the program.

A number of bumps in the road hindered production along the way but after working through each one, Ciuzio and King said they ran into the biggest issue of all; the plastic for the face shield itself is hard to come by right now.

Ciuzio said that he and King had searched and searched – with help from the University of Alabama’s Sam Andrus – but had no luck in finding the material. While there was no rush as they hadn’t yet had any requests from local medical workers yet, that changed when Enterprise’s Dr. Beverly Jordan contacted Enterprise Career Tech Principal Leigh Shiver asking for help.

“We didn’t have any official requests at all until Beverly Jordan reached out to Leigh Shiver and requested face shields,” Ciuzio said. “The cost wasn’t the issue, availability was the issue.”

Andrus and Alabama offered to donate 100 sheets of the plastic used for the face shields, which allowed them to finish production.

Ciuzio, King and Parrott produced 100 face shields and more than 1,000 “ear saver” clips for Southeast Medical Center in Dothan along with Medical Center Enterprise, Professional Medical Associates, Southeast Health and nursing homes in Enterprise.

King said one of the cooler things was seeing how excited their student helper was when delivering the shields.

“Me and our student – Ryan Parrott – went and delivered to Dr. Jordan and he was on cloud nine,” King said. “He was really pumped to help.”

Ciuzio said that it felt good to help out but he said those wearing the face shields are the real heroes.

“It makes a big difference to the users just for comfort level,” Ciuzio said of the face shields. “They can transition from having to wear a face mask into a shield and it just gives them more comfort and they’re the real heroes in all of this.”

Shiver said that it makes her feel good to see EHS teachers helping out this way.

“Nick and Josh go above and beyond in everything they do – especially getting our students involved – and it really makes you feel good and shows that what we’re doing here really makes a difference,” Shiver said. “I’m so proud of them.”

Anyone that wishes to donate to “The Cube’s” funding of these face shield projects can do so, at https://crowdfunding.ua.edu/project/20679.