Odyssea & TIMA Foundation donate 50,000 face-shields to the Ministry of Health
Funded by our partners the TIMA Foundation, we produced and delivered 50,000 face-shields and donated them free-of-charge to Greece’s Ministry of Health, who distributed them to hospitals and clinics across the country.
As COVID-19 takes hold of the globe, we are witnessing travel restrictions, social distancing measures and work from home policies. But most of all, we see our healthcare system overloaded and fatigued by the pandemic and a pressing medical supplies gap in Greece.
Using innovative design methods and digital tools from our Makerspace (3D printing, laser cutting and large CNC milling machines), we utilized manufacturing techniques such as injection molding, and we are producing more than 5.000 units per day, reaching the goal of 50.000 face-shields in less than 10 days.
The main components of the face-shield were fabricated within ISO 9001: 2008 certified facilities in compliance and even exceeding the requirements set through EU standard EN 166:2001. For the plastic headband, polypropylene is used, which is a suitable and widely used plastic for medical purposes. It is cost effective and environmentally friendly and it is highly resistant to cleaning agents, disinfectants and various solvents. As a result, the face-shield can be re-used multiple times, after being disinfected properly.
In this effort, more than 20 people from the Syrian refugee community supported us in the assembly work of all the units, through the Syrian and Greek Youth Forum, which we incubate as a new NGO in Greece since 2019.
In addition to the Ministry of Health, Odyssea delivered last week additional face-shields to over 29 locations around Greece including NGOs, elderly care units and community pharmacies, part of the GIVMED network.
As there is another potential coronavirus outbreak within 2020, we are rapidly expanding our work to create a ventilator solution for emergency use, based on worldwide research and prototypes.
The TIMA Charitable Foundation is a philanthropic organization which directs grants to Greek and Greek-related nonprofit organizations. The Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to social improvement, have demonstrated effective management skills and have achieved significant and tangible results.