WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — School is out across Central Georgia, but volunteers at the FireStarter FABLab in Houston County are learning a new skill -- how to make personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.
"Day in and day out, we're an education center and an entrepreneurship center," Jay Flesher, the managing board member of the FireStarter FABLab, says this lab is open year-round for classes at the Houston County Career Academy.
"In these times when you have COVID-19 and you're shut down and you have all the equipment, and you hear the medical community say they need certain PPE or supplies, you have to strive to do better," he says.
Flesher says to start, they made S hooks, tension strips, and face shields, which he says provide more coverage than a face mask.
"A final product of what it looks like is a shield like this, you can see it has the plastic shield in front of it, and this goes right up against the head," he demonstrates.
One volunteer, Don Luppino, says he's been with the lab for over four years and they're always looking for help, especially if you have a 3-D printer to make bands for the face shields.
So far, donations of the equipment have been to the Medical Center, Navicent Health, Houston Healthcare, and other hospitals across the state.
Flesher says this week, they also started making medical gowns. He says so far they've sent more than 200 to the Medical Center, Navicent Health.
To find out how you can help or make a donation, contact Flesher at (478) 919-4177 or info@firestarterfablab.com.
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