Learnings: Tips, Tricks & Resources
It’s been a journey for us at Something Labs and we’ve learned a lot along the way. Here are some of our takeaways to help you hit the ground running.
Don’t start from scratch. If you’re just getting started, amazing resources already exist for many types of PPE. We recommend starting by looking at designs already available in open source forums such as:
Open Source Medical Supply (OSMS) - designs and tips for many different types of PPE along with material sourcing recommendations can be found at OSMS.
Combine where possible. A small group can have an impact but working with others will enable you to combine skillsets and ideas that can lead to greater success. So many people are looking to help this cause. Partnering with others may enable you to gain access to facilities or tools you never thought you could.
Partnerships we’ve formed have helped us get access to production spaces, maker spaces, funding, food donations for our volunteers, driver networks and so much more.
Our partnership with Boston Scientific allowed our team to bring one million face shields to healthcare facilities all across the country. Don’t shy away from asking - the answer is overwhelmingly YES.
Ask for help when you need it. Everyone is looking to help right now. Are you staying up all hours of the night working on designs? Driving materials from place to place? Losing sleep putting together face shields? Your friends, neighbors, coworkers and family members want to help and make a difference in the fight against COVID. Similar to the note above, use your network to get volunteers and make a bigger impact. They’re just waiting for you to give them a task.
Be a cheerleader. Times are hard and a lot of people are struggling. Take extra time to ensure your team is doing OK - cheer them on for their successes and do your best to lift them up during down times. Check in frequently to see if what they’re doing matches their aspirations and try to find tasks that best match their skillsets.
Make connections and do outreach. Do you have friends/neighbors/family members in your community who are healthcare professionals? Reach out to them and make a connection. What do they need? Do they have enough PPE in their facilities?
All of our projects have come to us directly from healthcare workers in our network. We always want to ensure we’re making the products that they need and use. Creating trusted relationships with healthcare workers and facilities will ensure you’ll always get feedback quickly on your newest prototype to iterate faster.
Check in frequently on the needs of the organizations as COVID PPE status can changes every few weeks depending on an organization’s supply chain.
We had a team of 10 volunteers doing outreach to healthcare facilities (hospitals, free clinics, nursing homes, hospices, etc.) to confirm need for our donations prior to drop off.
PPE needs differ facility to facility. There are many types of healthcare facilities - hospitals, small clinics, free clinics, nursing homes, hospices, etc. Each of these have different access to PPE. Hospitals generally have more buying power in the supply chain whereas smaller clinics and nursing homes typically don’t have the same level of access. Hospitals also come in all shapes and sizes. Some are associated with large healthcare systems while others are stand-alone community hospitals. Consider this when determining need-based donations and always make sure to call ahead to make sure the facility you’re donating to is in need.
Take a data-centric approach. GetUsPPE has been one of our best resources for doing need-based donations. Here you can search by location and see which facilities near you are in need of what type of PPE.
The NYTimes COVID map has also been an amazing resource for our donations outside the Bay Area. This data has allowed us to determine where in the country we should focus our outreach to ensure we’re getting PPE to areas that are truly desperate.
Another good resource is the COVID tracking dataset through Johns Hopkins which also breaks up data by county.
Share widely and openly. Making all our designs open-source, creating a newsletter, social media accounts, serving on panels, being active on the OSMS Facebook group etc. have allowed us to create new connections with makers and organizations in our communities so we can all share and learn from one another. People have reached out to us from all over the country asking for a new product or asking for designs.
The biggest impact you can have is when you open your eyes and heart to what others have lovingly created. Share your learnings, designs and enthusiasm.