Amid COVID-19, 673d MDSS Airmen innovate added layer of protection

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Taylor, 673d Medical Support Squadron medical logistics noncommissioned officer in charge of acquisitions, attaches a rivet to a plastic polycarbonate enclosure while U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Michael Shoemaker, 673d Medical Support Squadron biomedical equipment technician, holds the enclosure steady at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, April 7, 2020. Taylor and Shoemaker designed and built the reusable device to be a protective barrier between medical providers and a patient to prevent possible exposure to COVID-19 and other airborne diseases. The innovated enclosure can be placed over a patient’s head and upper torso prior to intubation or similar treatments, with access to the patient via two holes at the head of the enclosure for a physician's hands and arms, and two side doors for additional access.