DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Boeing is sending 2,300 face shields to Dallas to be used at the temporary hospital at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
Boeing says 12 locations across the country are making components for the masks, including San Antonio in Texas.
"It's nice to believe I'm helping save someone's life, or I'm helping keep someone out of harm," says Derrick Tackett, a technical analyst at Boeing Research & Technology.
Boeing says some sites where production has been suspended were approved to resume work to contribute to the project. The company says it worked with a non-profit in Washington State, Design that Matters, to design the masks.
Boeing says the frames, headbands and shields are made at the factories using 3D printers. The components are then sent to St. Louis to be assembled.
The company says the first shipment was sent to Dallas Friday.
"It's always exciting to see the company come together as a whole," says machinist Sean Thuston. "We've got a special product to help take care of the men and women in the medical industry. If we can do our part to keep them safe, that's good enough for us."
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is being set up as a "step-down" hospital for COVID-19 patients who still show symptoms but no longer need acute care or a ventilator. Dallas County says 240 beds will be in place to handle a potential shortage in space at hospitals as cases grow later this month.
Sunday's hospital report released by Mayor Eric Johnson included information submitted by 24 hospitals. They reported 53% of hospital beds occupied, 60% of ICU beds occupied and 33% of available ventilators being used. Six fewer beds were occupied than Saturday, 12 fewer ICU beds were occupied and eight additional ventilators were being used.
In Tarrant County, hospitals reported about 50% of beds occupied and 28% of ventilators being used.
