PHOTO BY WEST MARINE
In collaboration with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Sutter Medical Group and the Milwaukee School of Engineering, West Marine is working to transform Ocean Reef snorkel masks into respirators for use at hospitals to treat those with COVID-19. It took several weeks at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Foundation in California to get 200 masks ready, but they are now ready to be used. West Marine hopes to send about 1,200 in total to hospitals.
“We kept seeing reports of scuba masks with the potential of being adapted into respirators, and we realized this was a real possibility to do our part during this pandemic,” says Ken Siepel, CEO of West Marine. “We’ve worked closely with all of these organizations to develop the appropriate adaptor for the masks, and as the masks continue to be deemed acceptable PPE, we are ready to begin distributing over the next few weeks.”
The company has also donated 4,000 face shields, 5,000 gloves, bungee cord that can be made into face masks and 150 spray suits. To learn more about their efforts to help health care workers throughout the pandemic, visit westmarine.com.
