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MHS sophomore makes ‘ear-savers’

contributed photo MHS student Zach Geil 3D prints straps to send to health care facilities in Marshalltown.

With health care workers putting in long hours in protective masks, many have dealt with facial irritation and sore ears. Of the many things these workers have to worry about while risking their lives providing essential care, this should not be one of them.

Some are using ingenuity to solve this problem by 3D printing straps to attach the masks to.

Zach Geil, a sophomore at Marshalltown High School and member of BotCats, decided to help out after a request was put out in the robotics league.

Health care workers use the “ear-savers” by attaching the elastics on the mask to the strap so they do not have to be put around their ears.

Geil was happy to help out his town during this difficult time.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Carol Geil models the ear-saver, which has the phrase “Marshalltown Strong” on it.

“It was nice to be able to use what I’ve been learning about 3D modeling in a way that supports the community,” he said.

Geil and the rest of the BotCats team qualified for state in February. His mother, Carol Geil, serves as one of the team’s mentors.

To get involved with the project, a 3D printer was transported to Geil’s home, and he worked hard to figure out how to get the software to work on his computer.

The sophomore and his mother have delivered two dozen ear-savers to UnityPoint Health and plan to continue to make more for McFarland Clinic and the Iowa Veterans Home. They have made six dozen so far.

The printer can produce three ear-savers an hour.

Geil added an additional element to honor the town. He redesigned the template for the ear-savers put out by UnityPoint, adding “Marshalltown Strong” to the design.

Geil is certainly making his town proud with his hard work.

“I thought it would be nice to help the community with coronavirus,” he said.

Geil mentioned it has also been something to do during the downtime, and he has had fun working with the 3D printer.

Carol said they plan to keep making the ear-savers and hope those who are interested will start contacting them.

She said people have been very appreciative. Carol mentioned the Marshalltown Foundation Executive Director Deidre Gruendler noted the straps could serve as more than just a useful tool for health careworks.

“It might be sort of a weird keepsake,” Carol said.

Though the pandemic will not become a fond memory, the community can look back and see how people stepped up to care for the town.

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Contact Anna Shearer at ashearer@timesrepublican.com.

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