SHADYSIDE — A local school district is working to shield people from COVID-19.

Switzerland of Ohio Local School District Superintendent Rob Caldwell got the idea while reading an article about Warren Local High School using its 3-D printers to make face shileds to serve as personal protective equipment.

The article caused him to start thinking that his district, which includes Beallsville, Monroe Central and River high schools, had 3-D printers that are used in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics, classes. He reached out to Mark Romick, the district’s Career Readiness coordinator, to confirm his original thought and seek more details.

Romick confirmed that the printers were available, reached out to River High School STEM instructor Mark Moore and the very next day Caldwell and Romick drove to each school in the district to collect their 3-D printers.

By April 24, the school district had produced 363 masks, which have been given to 19 different first-responder groups, hospital staffs or long-term healthcare facilities throughout the district.

“This is a trying time for everyone,” Caldwell said. “This (COVID-19) … pandemic is new to everyone, and who knows when it’s going to end? We just thought if we have the capability, why let (the printers) sit (idle)?”

The printers have been getting a workout. According to Romick, each mask takes two-and-a-half hours to print and, as Moore has gotten more comfortable with the program that’s being utilized, that pace has sped up significantly.

“We weren’t sure how many we could produce (early on),” Romick said. “Mark Moore is usually at the school eight to 10 hours a day producing them.”

All told, the district is running eight printers at River High School. Three of those can make two masks at a time. Woodsfield Elementary also is working on the mask project, so there are 10 total printers being utilized.

“We’re fortunate that our board of education has put in a lot of tech things, including these printers,” Romick said. “They’re definitely coming in handy.”

The masks are created using a plastic filament. The printer creates a pattern and “prints” the plastic portion of the mask, which goes onto the forehead.

“Basically, (the filament) feeds through a line, it’s heated and placed on a plate and the printer has what looks like arms and goes back-and-forth to create it,” Caldwell said.

Once the plastic portion is completed, the shield portion is attached as well as the bands that go around the ears and a padding, so the mask sits comfortably on the forehead for those wearing them for longer shifts.

The masks are being produced for between $6 and $7 per mask, which is much cheaper than what they’re being sold for, according to Romick.

“We’ve had some donations from individuals and companies that have been a big help,” Romick said. “We’ve heard some wild numbers about what these (masks) are costing on the market.”

Caldwell and Romick delivered their biggest shipment of masks — 88 to be exact — to Continuing Heathcare of Shadyside, formerly known as the Shadyside Care Center.

“We started out within our local communities (in our district) and supplied everything we could for them,” Caldwell said. “We reached out to all of the EMS, fire stations and police departments as well as Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and accommodated them. Now, we’re kind of expanding our radius for people in need. We’ll help in any way we can and we’ll do whatever we can.”

Because of need, the size of the orders has varied significantly. Basically, Switzerland of Ohio will do its best to produce whatever number a group requests. Monroe Health Care sought 50 masks.

Other groups that Switzerland of Ohio Schools has delivered masks to include: Monroe County Sheriff’s Department (40), Powhatan Point police (10); Woodsfield police (6), Powhatan e-squad (25), Clarington e-squad (6), Bethel e-squad (15), Woodsfield e-squad (12), Beallsville e-squad (8), Sardis e-squad (8), Lewisville Volunteer Fire Department (8), UPS (2), New Matamoras e-squad (8), Marietta Memorial Hospital (40), Wetzel County Hospital (15), New Martinsville police (12), River cafeteria (10) and Woodsfield cafeteria (10).

“One of the e-squads put it out on social media and that’s how Marietta Memorial got in touch with us,” Romick said. “Some groups said they were in pretty good shape (with personal protective equipment), but others were really hurting and couldn’t get (the masks).”

Caldwell, who said this venture started in late March shortly after the schools were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, indicated that the school district plans to continue to produce the masks for as long as possible.

“Everyone is very complimentary and appreciative of what we’re doing,” Caldwell said.