Whirlpool Corporation has started a collaboration with Dow and Reynolds Consumer Products to provide much-needed respirators to combat the spread of COVID-19. The joint project is a protective piece of headgear and respirator system that will be manufactured and sold through WIN Health Labs, LLC, in addition to an initial donation to hospitals.
The personal protective equipment (PPE) created by the joint team is a powered, air-purifying respirator, or PAPR, which takes the place of a traditional medical mask and visor and features a replaceable polyethylene hood. The clear hoods are both flexible and comfortable, and can quickly be replaced between patients.
Dr. John Froggatt III, MD of Spectrum Health Lakeland in St. Joseph Michigan, receives the first box of PAPR units donated by Whirlpool Corporation, Dow, and Reynolds Consumer Products from Christian Gianni, President of WIN Health Labs and VP of Technology for Whirlpool Corporation. Dr. Froggatt is an infectious disease specialist in Saint Joseph, MI and has been practicing for 31 years.
«We are using our supply of N95 masks and respirators at a rate 10 times higher than normal – said Loren B. Hamel, MD, president of Spectrum Health Lakeland in St. Joseph, Michigan, near Whirlpool Corporation’s Global Headquarters. – These are some of the most critical medical supplies to help ensure the safety of frontline workers who are often in direct contact with patients infected with the virus.»
Whirlpool, Dow and Reynolds Consumer Products were all looking for ways to give a concrete contribution to face the emergency, and through those efforts this collaboration was born. «Volunteers within each of the companies began reaching out to local healthcare providers to inquire how they could be helpful – said Christian Gianni, President of WIN Health Labs and VP of Technology for Whirlpool Corporation. – In order to accelerate the design process, we created a virtual, agile team that was able to go from paper to approved product in just seven weeks. Through this unique relationship and a huge amount of effort by a very talented group of people, we are now manufacturing respirators and are in a position to help our frontline healthcare providers.»
Whirlpool Corporation designed, manufactured and assembled the headset. Dow provided the polyethylene resin for the hoods, and Reynolds Consumer Products, makers of Hefty® brand, designed and produced the disposable hood. Volkswagen of America brokered connections with materials and supply chain partners to source critical components.
Two thousand units are being produced in the first phase for donation to hospitals located in regions where Whirlpool and Dow have operations, as well as other hospitals in need of PPE. To get the needed PPE to as many healthcare providers as possible, the Hefty® team is donating the first 1 million hoods.
