Delta Flight Products, the airline’s wholly owned subsidiary, is collaborating with Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI), a non-profit affiliate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, to manufacture face shields to protect hospital workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using materials and designs provided by GCMI, Delta Flight Products is leveraging its best-in-class manufacturing facilities to quickly deliver an initial order of 2,000 shields to aid workers in New York by Friday, and an additional 4,000 for Atlanta-area hospitals in the following days.
“Our entire team is rallying around this effort – it’s a meaningful way we can show our support for the health care workers working around the clock to protect us,” said Rick Salanitri, President of Delta Flight Products. “Georgia Tech and GCMI have been an incredible partner and we are proud to help carry out the vision of so many leading medical innovators to supply desperately needed personal protective equipment.”
Face shields are essential in extending the use life of the dwindling N95 mask inventory, while protecting healthcare professionals from contamination. Each consists of a clear barrier meant to cover the user’s face, reducing the potential for any virus contacting the user’s eyes and respiratory mask.
The Collaboration
Delta Flight Products is serving as an initial manufacturing site to test GCMI’s design and prescribed fabrication process, and is exploring expanding its face shield production beyond the initial order in the coming weeks.
The collaboration builds on the recently announced initiative between GCMI; Dr. Joanna Newton, Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, Aflac Center and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine; Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Technology Center; and a team of scientists and researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and its Invention Studio, aimed at addressing the severe shortage of personal protective equipment available to health workers during the pandemic.
Created to innovate on the most complex aspects of Delta’s aircraft interiors, specialty shops housed within Delta Flight Products are at the heart of customer experience. The team has developed bin lift assistance on the modified Delta 777 and Delta 764, and reduced more than 1,330 metric tons of emissions annually by developing the world’s first wireless in-flight entertainment system, putting Delta Flight Products on the leading edge of airline innovation.