Scott City firm making intubation shields

Never doubt the power of Facebook.

Cliff Brooks, chief financial officer of Schaefer's Electrical Enclosures in Scott City read a Facebook post recently from a friend.

The friend, a nurse anesthetist concerned about COVID-19, wondered whether Schaefer's could make a sturdy yet usable intubation shield for health care workers dealing with patients suspected of having the new coronavirus.

Schaefer's, categorized as an essential business during the pandemic, fabricates equipment, what it calls enclosures, from sheet metal.

The Nash Road facility's products have been used in wastewater treatment plants, factory automation, the oil and gas industry and in general defense, among other customers.

Brooks consulted with company president Randy Nielsen and vice president Rob Ward for the green light to proceed.

"Two hours after seeing the Facebook post," Brooks said, "we had an idea for a prototype.

"We've made two prototypes so far," Brooks added, "because we want to make sure they're effective."

The shield is made to completely cover the patient with holes near the head to allow medical personnel access.

The need for a shield for doctors and nurses seems clear.

No one knows for sure how the contagion is spread. What is clear is there is no vaccine.

The more protection for those on the front lines of the pandemic the better, Brooks said.

"We don't know what puts people in jeopardy," said Brooks, an employee of Schaefer's since 2011. "Is it saliva, is it coughing, nobody is sure," he added. "An enclosure like we've made limits the risk."

Schaefer's equipment is designed to bend sheet metal to fabricate products for industry, but it can also shape other materials.

"We're using acrylic and lexan for these shields," Brooks said.

SoutheastHEALTH and Saint Francis Medical Center have been approached with prototypes. Saint Francis has asked for tweaks in the shield, and Brooks said Schaefer's is working to make those changes.

"For now, we do have a hospital in Illinois, in the Chicagoland area, using the intubation shield we made," Brooks said.

Schaefer's was not prompted to action by the Defense Production Act (DPA), the federal law on the books since 1950, compelling private companies to produce equipment or devices critical to national security.

President Donald Trump invoked the DPA on March 20, but by then, Schaefer's had already been hard at work.

All it took was a social media post and a willingness to respond.

"We just wanted to do whatever we could to help," Brooks said.

Schaefer's was founded in 1986 in Advance, Missouri. Growth led the firm to move to its current base of operations near the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.