Flex Seal Cares About Healthcare Heroes

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, all we wanted to do at Flex Seal was to help in any way we could. We started by donating Flex Tape, for the construction of temporary COVID-19 Alternate Care Facility (ACF) tents in Westchester, NY, but we knew we had to do more. As we were looking for other ways to aid in this battle, we received a request to support our nation’s healthcare heroes. We were eager to help and quickly jumped into action.

“When we reached out to Flex Seal with a request for sponsorship, they did not hesitate,” said Mike Adams, Chief Commercial Officer for OrthoSpine Partners, based in Scottsdale, AZ.

The Flex Seal Family has always supported our nation’s first responders, but we knew they needed us now more than ever. Through this partnership, we were able to help create life-saving personal protective equipment for our nation’s healthcare heroes. The intubation box is a temporary protection device that works by sitting over the head and shoulders of a patient during the intubation process. This effort all started with one doctor, determined to find a better way to protect himself and his colleagues.

Dr. Benjamin Reeser testing the intubation box. Photo Courtesy of OrthoSpine Partner

“Dr. Benjamin Reeser is an amazing ER doctor in Arizona that has been working tirelessly throughout this pandemic,” said Phil Swift, CEO, Inventor and Spokesperson for The Flex Seal® Family of Products. “Dr. Reeser told us that in the beginning, he and his team were using clear trash bags to protect themselves while intubating patients. He began searching online for a better alternative and found a design for a clear acrylic box. He modified it and immediately began to build intubation boxes.”

After Dr. Reeser and his team began using the intubation boxes in their hospital, requests from hospitals all over the nation started coming in.

“We knew time was critical and we had to get the boxes into the hands of healthcare workers as quickly as possible,” said Swift. “We expedited tons of Flex Tape to Dr. Reeser and his team to start fulfilling requests we were receiving from all over the nation. We also utilized our resources at the company to build boxes ourselves and personally deliver them to the local hospitals in our area.”

George Demetroules, Senior Carpenter at The Flex Seal® Family of Products, was one of the employees who worked day in and day out to make dozens of intubation boxes.

“I’m really proud of this effort and thankful for the opportunity,” Demetroules said. “It’s the least we can do to help those who are putting their lives on the line for us.”

Photo courtesy of Ashlee Perez

To date, over 500 Intubation Boxes have been built and distributed both locally and nationally.

“We were so thankful to have Flex Seal donate supplies,” said Becky Khan, an ER nurse in Florida. “We couldn’t believe how many intubation boxes we received! Anything helps, and knowing we have support from those around us just gives us more encouragement to fight this battle and protect our community.”

Although we don’t know when this battle will be over, the intubation boxes can be used time and time again. These reusable boxes will continue to support our healthcare heroes not only during the COVID-19 pandemic, but whenever a patient needs to be intubated, no matter the illness.

“This has helped a lot,” Dr. Reeser says. “Flex Seal stepping up and coming in and helping out has been a great hand in this.”

The Flex Seal Family is so grateful for the opportunity to help and for the incredible efforts made by Dr. Reeser, his team, and our healthcare heroes across the nation.

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