Lauren Smith’s STEM students are utilizing their resources to aid Oklahoma’s healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Senior Jacob Marino and junior Daniel Webber produced batches of protective ear straps, a job that has also been in practice globally.

“Basically, it started with individuals within the 3D printing community who noticed that there was a lack of protective gear for healthcare workers,” Marino said. “From there, the desire to help workers by printing protective materials such as ventilator adapters, ear straps, and significantly, face masks.” 

Relieving the irritation of the various elastic masks being used, the straps are a practical solution to divert stress from workers’ ears during their time on the job. The idea for members of the STEM class to start printing ear straps arose from a concept courtesy of someone within the McGuinness community. 

“We had a classmate’s dad (Annemarie Edmonds’ father) who works at an architecture firm that designed a 3D model of a strap,” Marino said. “They asked us, the students with printers, to print them. The batch that I donated was around 280 straps, and Daniel Webber printed around 250.” 

The addition of printed materials by third parties lessens the imbalance of available resources made in factories and other locations overwhelmed by the need for more. Marino and other members of the STEM class recognized the disparity in medical resources amongst local healthcare workers, and sought to minimize the gap.

“We’ve been making the straps for mostly EMT workers because in the world of healthcare workers, they haven’t been getting much attention,” Marino said. “Additionally, when Ms. Smith dislocated her shoulder the other day, she requested ear straps for the nurses that helped her, and she said it was ‘like Christmas Day for them’.”

The persistence of COVID-19, whether nationally or municipally, prompts manufacturers of needed goods to continue production. Those like Marino, remaining at home with valuable time and technology can lend a helpful hand in supplying much-needed goods across the metro.