Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Community Heroes

A Local 920 member and his wife step up to make a difference

When the pandemic came to the world in 2020, many front-line workers did not have suitable PPE. Local 920 member Jeremy Braithwaite, volunteer firefighter and union steward from Quinte West, and his wife, Suzanne, stepped up to make a difference in their community.

Jeremy is a professor of mechanical and manufacturing engineering and Suzanne is a nurse and coordinator at Loyalist College’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Together, they combined their skills and developed a prototype face shield that could be made locally to protect healthcare professionals on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We need to do everything we can to protect nurses, doctors, and emergency services workers because they’re doing everything in their power to protect us,” says Jeremy. “They are protecting our community, and without personal protective equipment, they place themselves, and the community, at risk. Manufacturing face shields for local healthcare providers is an honour.”

The couple developed a few prototypes of the face shields, and with a huge amount of community support and assistance, they received approval from Quinte Healthcare (QHC) and were able to produce over 2,000 face shields within three days.

Since starting their operation, the Braithwaite’s have been able to produce over 15,000 face shields with the help of volunteers and community organizations. Many of these face shields have been donated to Quinte Healthcare (QHC) and other organizations around the Quinte area.

Community Heroes

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