Brentwood is proud to partner with Penn State Health St. Joseph in Berks County’s fight against COVID-19. The company donated 5,000 reusable face shields to the hospital to protect healthcare workers as the pandemic continues.
Brentwood President, Peter Rye, and his wife, Leigh, presented the donation to hospital representatives on Wednesday.
“We wanted to protect those working to keep us safe and healthy, particularly in the community where we live and operate,” said Rye. “We learned that [Penn State Health] St. Joe’s needed personal protection equipment, and we were happy to jump in and help.”
The company said its commitment to help during the pandemic will extend beyond Penn State Health St. Joseph, with more face shield donations throughout Berks County. Brentwood is also building partnerships with hospitals and businesses in the other domestic locations where the company operates – Lebanon, PA; Martinsburg, WV; and Hope, AR – with the intent of donating thousands more face shields.
When COVID-19 took hold in the U.S. two months ago, Brentwood assessed its capabilities and decided to develop the reusable face shield product. The company had never designed or manufactured personal protection equipment, but this was a challenge they were excited to take on.
“Our facilities were already equipped to form medical packaging and injection molded components,” said Walter Banta, Brentwood’s Senior Director of Operations, “so developing a face shield was an easy decision.”
The face shield design and tooling were completed within weeks, enabling Brentwood to ramp up production in its Reading, PA, facilities. These include an ISO Class 7 cleanroom and a state-of-the-art injection molding facility.
Several weeks ago, the company received official authorization from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to supply its face shields specifically to healthcare workers fighting COVID-19. This approval falls within the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) guidelines.
Brentwood’s face shields also protect non-healthcare essential workers, tasked with keeping grocery stores, warehouses, and other critical processes operational during this difficult time.