SPA Engineering / Facebook

By Emily Keller

healthcare

SPA Engineering donates first batch of 3D printed ear savers to healthcare workers

Apr 16, 2020 | 5:07 PM

SPA Engineering, a local consulting engineering firm, has made their first donation of 3D printed ear savers to different departments at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital and Alberta Health Services EMS.

Ear savers are items that go on the back of the head that the straps of face masks can hook into, instead of being wrapped around the ears for an extended period of time.

An ear saver being used. (SPA Engineering / Facebook)

“I was watching the news a couple weeks ago and saw that this boy had started printing these 3D ear savers for all the nurses and doctors,” said Yvonne Oakford, Partner with SPA Engineering. “And that they were really helping with the pressure of the ear straps, and three of our partners own 3D printers themselves personally, so I contacted them and asked them if they would be interested in having SPA provide for the filament and them print the ear savers for anybody that wanted them, and they agreed.”

Oakford says she then posted the offer of ear savers on social media, and immediately got a response.

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“In twenty-four hours, we had a response of about 400 ear savers that people would like to have. So, some are coming from High Level, Peace River, I have some going to Prince George, and we just delivered our first bunch yesterday, about 60 of them, and I have 75 able to go out today.”

She says that hospitals are not the only services requesting them.

“The EMS’ were starting to be required to wear them, the seniors homes are requiring to wear them, and we’ve just gotten a call from the Signature Support Services, they’re required to wear them in their homes as well. So, it’s not just the nurses and doctors that are being required to wear them throughout the day, it’s so many different avenues.”

Oakford does add that the partners that are printing these ear savers are not printing them on company time, but on their own personal time outside of work.