The Rotary Club of Milton supports local hero making & donating Personal Protective Equipment
Forwarded by John Lintack, President Rotary Milton
In late March, a few weeks into the COVID lock down, Ryan Dorland was speaking with his cousin, a nurse on the front lines. It was an emotional call, with her sharing her fears and concerns with the shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Notably, she and co-workers were being rationed to one disposable mask for an entire 12 hour shift, with other critical supplies running dangerously low.
Ryan’s reaction was instantaneous --- he said “How can I help?”
With no prior experience --- just a burning desire to help his cousin and other front-line health care workers --- he sprang into action.
Within just a few weeks Ryan now has a small army of 3D printers in his garage producing protective face shields and ear savers, by the thousands! As we now know, the face shields are critical to protecting our friends and family members who are on the front lines. What you may not know is that masks are not meant to be worn for 8 – 12 hours at a time. When they are, the straps cause chafing and irritation behind the ears. The plastic ear savers re-position the straps, making them much more comfortable to wear for long periods.
With the help of his wife Anna-Kay, who manages the shipping, Ryan is sending face shields and ear savers to hospitals, Emergency Medical Services and long-term care facilities throughout Ontario --- free of charge! In just one month of operation they have shipped over 2000 face shields and over 2500 ear savers. Last week, they were able to outfit both the local Milton District Hospital, and nearby Oakville Trafalgar Hospital with ear savers for every staff member.
The Rotary Club of Milton is proud to be supporting Ryan in his efforts to keep our front-line workers safe. Rod McLachlan, a Past President and a very active and community minded Rotarian, contacted Ryan as he was scaling up, and the club has donated enough cash for Ryan to buy one of his 3D printers and supplies to keep it producing. Ryan knows that if he needs more assistance, the club will be there for him.
Ryan wakes at 6:00 AM to get the printers --- ‘his children’ as he calls them --- into action and looks after them until 11:00 PM or later, every day of the week. This means, feeding supplies, and constantly caring for and repairing machines that are not meant for this type of production volume. All while juggling time with his day job and family. For Ryan, it is worth it. He has been receiving thank you messages from all over the province, with pictures of doctors, nurses and personal support workers wearing his protective shields and ear savers. As he says, “it’s great to get these messages. Once I pack the box and see it shipped, I am off to the next order, and so to see the people using his equipment, and feeling safer in their jobs … that’s a great feeling”.
Thank you Ryan.
