By the A.M. Costa Rica staff 

Wisconsin-based Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center-Janesville had a shortage of protective equipment due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Prent Corporation is a plastic thermoforming company that designs and produces custom packaging for the medical and electronic industries. Prent Costa Rica is their newest addition to the corporation since 2017. They are located in Parque Industrial Z, in Heredia Province.

According to the firm, within 48 hours, healthcare workers had new face shields. They donated more than 10,000 face shields to Mercyhealth and other local healthcare facilities.

Costa Rica also benefited. The local branch received 1,200 units, of which 1,000 were donated to the National Emergency Commission and 200 to people with high exposure to covid-19, such as garbage collectors and staff from the municipalities of the cantons where the company's employees reside.

“This would not have been possible without the mystique of our collaborators, who donated part of their time in the elaboration and packaging of these masks,” said Juan Carlos Touma, plant manager of Prent Costa Rica.

The protective equipment donated to the National Emergency Commission will be of great help to healthcare workers, as they cover their entire faces to help keep the masks clean so they can be used safely for longer periods of time, said the firm in its statement.

“We heard there was a dire need in our community and we knew we could help, so we dedicated a team to work on it immediately,” said Joseph Pregont II, vice president of corporate sales at Prent. “The added capacity means we have an entire production line dedicated to making face shields without impacting other orders. We’ll continue face shield production until hospital supply chains can meet the demand.”

Right now, many healthcare workers are forced to reuse surgical masks because they’re in short supply. The face shield covers the whole face to help keep masks clean so they can be safely used.

Prent designers tried creating a traditional face shield with 3 parts: shield, foam cushion, and elastic headband, but found it would take too long to get all the parts from suppliers, so the company designed an innovative solution made of only plastic and foam that could be produced and delivered quickly.

The scratch-resistant, recycled PETG plastic material from sister company, GOEX, was extruded in an unprecedented 24 hours. The firm estimates it has the capacity to make millions of face shields per week.

The company manufacturing facilities are located in the U.S., China, Costa Rica, Mexico, Denmark, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico.



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What other multinational company branches in Costa Rica should donate medical supplies to health workers?   We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com

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