Healthcare professionals are running short of the proper personal protection equipment to protect themselves and Dr. Kevin Postol of Ballwin, MO, has found a way to help.
Hunter Engineering and Washington University (under the directive of Dr. Jennifer Delaney) have teamed up to create a new powered air purifying respirator unit that can be utilized by medical teams treating COVID- 19 positive patients.
“CPAP machines were the standard of care for sleep apnea for decades,” says Belinda Postol, who heads up the Sleep Disorder side of her husband’s thriving family dental office. “Today, sleep dentistry lets us treat sleep apnea using an oral appliance, meaning many of our patients are no longer using their old CPAP machines.”
The CPAP machine motors and tubing can be cleaned, disinfected, and repurposed in the PAPR production process. The PAPR units can then be distributed to hospitals to provide protection to healthcare professionals.
“We heard about the initiative being headed up by Hunter Engineering,” says Dr. Postol. “I instantly realized – we know a lot of patients who no longer have use for their old CPAP machines, and there must be many more people in the community who may have old units or spare parts they would like to donate to such a cause.”
Dr. Postol’s office is accepting donations of used CPAP machines and parts for recycling at their office starting April 15th. The office will accept these items Mondays through Thursdays from 9 am to 5 PM and using specialized protocols to protect both the public and themselves. The units and parts will be sent to aid in the PAPR production effort.
(Photo: Getty Images)