(FOX 2) - You might call Ford Motor Company Ford "Medical" Company during the pandemic, as the automaker has shifted to manufacturing badly-needed medical equipment.
Sinai Grace emergency room Dr. Erin Brennan was key in designing a simple yet effective face shield that could be mass produced by them quickly.
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Mich. ER doctor helps Ford make face shields quicker, more comfortably
We talk with Sinai Grace emergency room Dr. Erin Brennan, who was key in helping Ford Motor Company mass produce face shields so quickly.
"There's a face shield on the market from medical equipment manufacturers, but the problem is during the COVID-19 pandemic, you can't get these. You can't get them fast enough and you can't get them in great enough quantities to keep all of us safe. So Ford Motor Company really stepped up to the plate," Dr. Brennan said.
She was able to help Ford tweak the design of the face shield. They reduced the number of steps it takes to produce and also helped make it more comfortable to weak.
Ford also had to re-think about the way they made the shield because they were having trouble sourcing an elastic piece that goes around the back of the head, since many companies were trying to secure the piece to make the shields.
"So what they did instead was use some ceiling from around your car door and your car windows and they connected that with little widgets to the front of the shield," Dr. Brennan said.
Face shields are just another very important piece of personal protection equipment that goes into healthcare workers' daily outfit.
Dr. Brennan says they help protect the eyes and also the N-95 masks being worn underneath, so they can last longer.
UAW volunteers, who are being paid, are making these face shields. Ford has sent out millions of the face shields to healthcare workers all over the country.