20 APRIL 9, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
SJU professor donates PPE to Queens hospitals
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
More desperately needed
Personal Protection Equipment
was delivered Friday
to Elmhurst Hospital, which was
overwhelmed by a surge of COVID-
19 patients over the last two weeks.
Working in partnership with
Councilman Francisco Moya and
Apollo Global Management cofounder
Josh Harris are donating
10,000 KN95 face masks, with another
90,000 masks to be donated
by the fi rm next week.
“Health care professionals are on
the front lines of this crisis. They
didn’t just sign up for the good days
or easy days. They signed up to save
lives, and we need to make sure
they’re able to suit up for that fi ght,”
Moya said. “The people at Apollo are
true New Yorkers who have stepped
up in a big way, led by Josh Harris,
to support the courageous doctors,
nurses and hospital staff . Knowing
that we haven’t reached the apex of
this fi ght, it’s imperative that together
we make every, big and small, to
get those on the frontline the armor
they need to stay in the fi ght.”
The community surrounding
Elmhurst Hospital has been the
hardest hit during the coronavirus
crisis, according to city data.
“All of us at Appollo have been
inspired by the numerous acts
of extraordinary heroism we’ve
witnessed at Elmhurst Hospital in
recent days and we will continue to
do everything we can to be a meaningful
part of the response to the
global pandemic,” Harris said. “We
deeply appreciate the crucial role
that Council member Moya played
in arranging for us to provide this
assistance and the bold and eff ective
actions the entire Elmhurst
Hospital team has taken to meet this
unprecedented challenge.”
Elmhurst Hospital CEO Israel
Rocha reached out to Moya
to request help with the facility’s
shortage of personal protective
equipment.
“On behalf of our patients and
healthcare providers, I want to
thank Apollo Global Management,
Josh Harris and Council Member
Moya for their generous donation
of KN95 masks to help us provide
patient care during this unprecedented
pandemic,” Rocha said.
“The outpouring of support we have
received from community members
and our elected offi cials has been
truly inspiring and has warmed
our hertz at this very diffi cult time.
The generosity of Apollo Global
Management will directly arm our
workers with the safety protection
they need to continue fi ghting this
disease and saving lives.”
Little distinguishes KN95 masks
from N95 masks beyond marginally
different factory standards.
The Centers for Disease Control
identifi ed the KN95 as a “suitable
alternative” to the N95 mask, which
is certifi ed by the U.S. National Institute
for Occupational Safety and
Health.
ACTS OF KINDNESS
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
It took no time for Max Hergenrother,
director of Technology Operations
of The Lesley H. and William L. Collins
College of Professional Studies
at St. John’s University, to pack up as
many 3D printers he could fi t into his
car to take home and get to work building
face shields for medical workers
at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis
in Queens.
“At St. John’s, if we’re able to help,
it happens,” Hergenrother said. “It’s
the Vincentian mission. St. Vincent
de Paul was about helping people
who are most in need — and the most
pressing need now, I think, is our
medical services. They’re the ones
helping stem the crisis that’s going
on. If we can help them, we can help
all of us.”
Hergenrother has worked in several
different capacities at St. John’s
for 20 years, including as an adjunct
professor for the Department of Art
and Design as well as running 3D
printing courses and seminars.
Shortly after the university implemented
remote working due to the
coronavirus outbreak, Hergenrother
figured out that by using the university’s
equipment from home in Glen
Head, NY, he could help alleviate at
least some of Queens hospitals’ need
for personal protective equipment
(PPE).
The husband and father of two
then set up the printing farm in one
of his spare rooms, with a total of six
printers that run for 24 hours a day,
everyday.
Hergenrother decided to create
validated, semi-disposable face
shields. The face shields are made
of a semicircle clear plastic that
covers an individual’s entire face
and is adjustable with a buttonhole
elastic band.
Although these aren’t replacements
for face masks, they are an
added safety measure for the medical
workers risking their lives to
treat the hundreds of thousands
COVID-19 patients in Queens.
“This is a real grassroots effort
from makers in the community,”
Hergenrother said.
There’s a lot of organizing and
planning that goes into the making
of the face shields — especially with
two kids who Hergenrother and his
wife are guiding through remote
learning while they take care of
their own work remotely.
“It is a juggle but it’s a worthwhile
juggle,” he said.
He began by assembling 175 face
shields a week, and is now up to 250
a week. Hergenrother said there
will soon be another design that will
make it easier to build and will boost
up production to 400 a week.
The face shields are going to New-
York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital
and have been distributed to other
Queens hospitals through their own
distribution chain. St. John’s University
previously donated 186,000
medical gloves, 500 disposable lab
coats, 100 surgical masks and 20
protective face shields to New York
Presbyterian-Queens Hospital.
After Fox News featured St. John’s
and Hergenrother’s efforts, he’s
already received offers to expand
the printing farm and work with
organizations to mass produce the
face shields.
However, what he’s most in need of
at the moment are buttonhole elastic
bands, being that supply is limited.
Hergenrother emphasizes that if
anyone has these supplies and wants
to donate them, they can mail them
to St. John’s University — located on
8000 Utopia Parkway in Jamaica —
and he’ll keep up the work.
When asked whether there might
be surplus of this kind of equipment,
Hergenrother said he isn’t worried
about that.
“That’s not going to happen any
time soon,” Hergenrother said. “The
more, the better off the medical
workers are and the more effectively
they can work. So I’m going to keep
running full steam ahead.”
Photo courtesy of St. John’s University
Elmhurst Hospital receives donation of 100,000 KN95 masks
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