News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2020-04-28-faceshields
April 28, 2020
MakerSpace Supplies Face Shields
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started to escalate in the Santa Clarita Valley
and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for healthcare professionals remained scarce,
the MakerSpace at College of the Canyons turned back on its lights and fired up its
3-D printing machines.
“Our MakerSpace is a place for innovation and ingenuity,” said College of the Canyons
Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook. “It was a privilege for the college to harness
the creativity, focus and energy to support our local hospital, which is a strong
partner of College of the Canyons and has been the employer of choice for so many
of our nursing graduates.”
After 10 days of running the center’s six 3-D printers around-the-clock, MakerSpace
assembled 150 face shields, which where delivered to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital on
Tuesday, April 28.
“We are very grateful to College of the Canyons for these face shields,” said Marlee
Lauffer, president of the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation and vice president
of marketing and communications for the hospital. “In today’s environment, it’s impossible
to have too much PPE. Our entire staff, and especially our frontline healthcare workers,
deeply appreciate COC’s resourcefulness and generosity.”
During the three-and-a-half hours it took MakerSpace instructional laboratory technician
Christopher Walker to make a face shield, his mind inevitably turned to members of
his own family who work in the medical field.
“If we can help prevent one transmission of COVID-19 or make just one health care
worker or emergency responder feel just a little bit safer doing their job, we have
achieved what we had hoped to do—to help others,” said Walker.
Materials for the face shields were funded through regional sources, including the
college’s Center for Applied Technologies (CACT).
“It is an honor and privilege to utilize the MakerSpace to assist our first responders
during this unprecedented crisis,” said Jeffrey Forrest, vice president of economic
and workforce development at the college. “We will continue to use our resources to
help the community in any way we can.”
MakerSpace will continue producing face shields for healthcare professionals throughout
Southern California on an ongoing basis. Up next are 200 face shields for COC nursing
students.
The MakerSpace mission is to enable community members to design, prototype and create
manufactured works that wouldn’t be possible to create with the resources available
to individuals working alone.
Both of the college’s MakerSpace facilities have been designed as collaborative learning
areas that give users free access to tools, materials, technological resources, skills
training and a variety of entrepreneurial opportunities.
MakerSpace Valencia opened in May 2016, followed by the opening of the Canyon Country
campus location five months later.
To make 3D material donations towards the MakerSpace’s face shield project, please
contact Mike Bastine at (661) 362-3739.