All across the world, hospitals and medical staff are running through their mask supply to protect themselves from COVID-19. One Southlake anesthesiologist and his family are helping to relieve some of the shortage.
When the coronavirus came to Texas in March, Dr. Peter Baek was concerned about the supply of personal protective equipment to protect himself and his colleagues. While stay-at-home orders have helped mitigate the spread of the virus, Dr. Baek was concerned about PPE availability in the future.
“There is a worldwide shortage of masks and other PPE,” Dr. Baek says. “I did not want to wait until the supply runs out to find an alternative solution.”
So Dr. Baek collaborated with the healthcare product development company Invene to create valves that could fit onto a snorkel mask and filter particles through it for protection. While it hasn’t been FDA approved, Dr. Baek says the valves could serve as a viable replacement if hospitals run out of N95 masks.
“The point of this was to have something in place if or when it runs out,” Dr. Baek remarks. “Getting the snorkeling mask itself is the easy part. The hard part is creating the valve that will connect the mask to the filter.”
Dr. Baek says he’s manufactured over 100 3D-printed mask filters so far with more still in production. He says he’s distributed them to local hospitals around the area and has even received some requests from California, New York and Maryland. And he’s had a little help shipping them out thanks to the three Dragons that live at home with him.
“My kids have been instrumental in helping me pack the ventilators and getting them out,” Dr. Baek says. “They’ve learned something as well about donating time and effort toward a good cause.”
For those that would like to help, donate toward Dr. Baek’s production costs on GoFundMe.com. Dr. Baek also recommends residents to donate masks and other protective materials to local hospitals if they can.
“There are plenty of opportunities where people can help,” Dr. Baek encourages.