PHOTOS: Islander Jim Whitney, medical services officer for the Redmond Fire District, said that keeping up morale among first responders has been a priority since day one of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The anxiety and fear associated with COVID at the onset were pretty high,” he said.
But now, a tool designed by researchers working in the University of Washington’s Engineering Innovation in Health program (EIH) and manufactured on Vashon will allow emergency medical services staff to reuse invaluable N95 respirator masks, seen as the best line of defense against transmission of COVID-19 for essential workers and those on the frontline.