Weeks ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold in Michigan, Becky Cherney (BSN ’12) went to the grocery store and saw customers crowding the aisles while employees worked without masks or protective gear. At a local homeless shelter, she witnessed staff and volunteers covering their faces with nothing more than bandanas.
Weeks later, she and fellow alumnus Kevin Leeser (BSN ’13) have built a national network of volunteers that’s helped deliver more than 10,000 face shields to frontline health care workers, first responders and other essential personnel throughout Michigan and across the United States.
Operation Face Shield is centered on the idea of using 3-D printers to address the nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment. Cherney has been a nurse in Michigan Medicine’s Progressive Care Unit for the last six years. The unit was converted into a COVID-19 ICU, and the hospital implemented new policies to preserve a limited supply of PPE. When Cherney saw what was happening in her community, she knew she wanted to help and saw face shields as a possible solution.
“When I’m not working, I’m working on this, too,” she said. “It can be challenging trying to make sure everyone is on the same page, but we just have to remember our main goal is to save lives.”
