COW CREEK FOUNDATION HELPS WITH PURCHASE OF 3D PRINTERS

May 18, 2020 3:20 a.m.
The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation has helped with the purchase of 3D printers, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A release from the foundation said Talent Maker City, a makerspace created in 2016 in Talent, Oregon has turned all its attention to responding to the medical equipment needs created by COVID-19. The space, to comply with the Oregon Health Authority’s standards, is currently closed to the public, with hopes of reopening in the summer months.
TMC is now focusing on the immediate personal protection equipment need in the Rogue Valley. The release said that focus was enhanced when TMC received an emergency grant from the foundation for $7,700 to purchase two 3D printers to make PPE and medical equipment for healthcare workers in southern Oregon.
TMC Executive Director Ryan Wilcoxson said thanks to the foundation’s rapid turnaround to its emergency grant request, it was able to instantly increase its production rate and added the capacity to prototype specialized medical components like inline HEPA filters and six-port ventilator adapters that allow a single ventilator to serve up to six patients.
Executive Director for the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation, Carma Mornarich said the foundation is pleased and honored to support the response of Talent Maker City to COVID-19. She said the groups “ingenuous approach to producing PPE and medical equipment protects healthcare workers and expands capacity for the health and safety of people in southern Oregon”. She said their work represents real progress in the battle against COVID-19.
TMC has also received approval to produce inline air filter housings designed to accommodate the more common P11-style filters which were prototyped in collaboration with Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center of Medford.