Billings Clinic Foundation
Philanthropy plays a critical role in helping to achieve the margins of excellence in delivering the best clinical quality, patient safety, service and value to our patients.
We are grateful to each and every donor who has made a difference in the lives of others through their gift.
Help with Personal Protective Equipment for Staff and Patients
One of the challenges health care providers are experiencing across the nation is a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including masks. These devices are essential to keeping our staff, our patients and our communities safe.
To bolster the limited supply of PPE masks, Billings Clinic Neurosurgeon, Dusty Richardson, MD, in collaboration with Billings-area dentist Spencer Zaugg, DDS and his son Colton, have tapped into their ingenuity to create durable, reusable plastic masks using 3D printer technology.
The 3D-printed mask has a snap-in section for filtration material that can be changed out as needed. The Flowmark/Hitech Filters company headquartered in Billings is partnering with us to provide 20,000 pieces of filter materials in support of this project. These masks will supplement existing mask supplies.
Our next effort is to activate every 3D printer in our community to produce these masks. Billings Public Schools, Rocky Mountain College, and Montana State University-Billings have all offered to help. We are asking others in our community with access to 3D printers and related supplies to assist in this effort.
Financial support is needed to fund this effort. The Billings Clinic Foundation invites you to support the production of these masks and other needs by contributing to our Innovation Fund. Donations can be made online or by contacting Amberly Pahut at apahut@billingsclinic.org or (406)657-4679.
To assist the health care community locally and nation-wide with similar efforts, information on the mask design, including specifications for this particular mask design is posted online on this page and on www.longliveyoursmile.com. For additional information on how to help Billings Clinic with supplies and printing, please email maskprinting@billingsclinic.org or call (406) 435-MASK (435-6275).
Billings Clinic is continuing to address the COVID-19 crisis and work to keep our patients safe. Please click here for information.
*The 3D printed mask information presented here is intended to assist the general public during the current a global pandemic related to COVID-19 and the related nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment. Please be aware that this mask design is not intended to replace standard protective equipment such as N-95 masks or surgical masks when that equipment is available. The use of these 3D printed masks has not been fully tested and has not been approved by federal or state authorities. Billings Clinic, Marlin D. Richardson, M.D., Spencer Zaugg, DDS, and Colton Zaugg make no representations or guarantees regarding the safety, efficacy, or appropriate use of these masks in any particular situation. Use of this information for any purpose is at the maker’s and user’s own risk.
