Community members work with Prisma Health task force to develop and manufacture face shields

GREENVILLE, SC—In both Columbia and Greenville, Prisma Health’s Rapid Innovation Task Force has partnered with local entrepreneurs to rapidly develop and manufacture large quantities of protective face shields for Prisma Health’s front-line healthcare workers.

Face shields are full-face visors worn by workers to help protect their faces from potentially infectious substances. They were identified early on by Prisma Health as a critical-needs manufacturing project to ensure its workers would continue to have access to the equipment regardless of national supply levels.

In Greenville, task force member Jerry Chang teamed with Prisma Health to develop a prototype, test, manufacture and coordinate initial delivery, with the process taking only weeks. Chang is also husband to its Upstate chief medical officer, Catherine Chang, MD.

“As local entrepreneurs, that’s our job – to make miracles happen,” said Chang, the owner and managing partner of Samaritan Biologics. “I want to thank the generous community partners who donated their time and equipment to help keep our healthcare workers and others safe in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The face shields will be also be shared with first responders, nursing homes and other facilities as needed.

Partners in the Upstate face shield project also included Mitsubishi Polyester Film in Greer, Paper Cutters Inc. in Travelers Rest, American Foam and Fabric in Lyman and Roylco Industrial in Anderson. Students at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, meanwhile, assembled the face shields. The disposable plastic face shields were made at a significant cost savings because most of the work was donated or at reduced cost.

In Columbia, John Carrington is founder and CEO of Zverse, a local firm specializing in prototype design and 3D printing. His team worked with Prisma Health physicians to quickly develop a face shield designed for safety, comfort and a low unit cost. In only two days the first prototype was developed and refined by in-house designers, while Zverse reached out to their U.S. manufacturing partners equipped for mass production. The key component is the headpiece designed to hold the clear disposable visor from ear-to-ear and may be repeatedly sterilized for reuse. Once Zverse’s 3D-printed prototype was approved, their manufacturing partners in South Carolina, North Carolina and Minnesota created injection molds capable of reproducing tens of thousands of units per day and quickly began production.

“This project came to us with remarkable timing,” said Carrington. “Not only did it allow us to support a critical healthcare need in the COVID-19 crisis, we were able save and create new local jobs at a moment when we were expecting a severe business slowdown due to the pandemic. Our team knew scared front-line workers, family and friends around the country who could benefit from this, and it gave us something to rally around.”

Since launching this year, the Prisma Health Rapid Innovation Task Force has partnered with academic and business partners to quickly develop solutions to the urgent needs created by the pandemic. Early successes include innovative manufacturing such as the face shields, therapies such as convalescent serum and even donation drives with University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville to help supply community partners with protective gear and cleaning supplies.

“It’s incredible to see how our entire community stood up to help us,” said John Kudlak, DO, a Prisma Health pulmonologist and task force member. “By working closely with local industry, Prisma Health was able to source design and materials for face shields to protect our front-line healthcare workers and also our community partners.”

About Prisma Health
Prisma Health is a not-for-profit health company and the largest healthcare system in South Carolina. With nearly 30,000 team members, 18 hospitals, 2,984 beds and more than 300 physician practice sites, Prisma Health serves more than 1.2 million unique patients annually. Its goal is to improve the health of all South Carolinians by enhancing clinical quality, the patient experience and access to affordable care, as well as conducting clinical research and training the next generation of medical professionals. For more information, visit PrismaHealth.org.