The 3D printers at Yakima Maker Space have crafted many things, from busts of famous people to ballerina figurines to keychains.
Now, they’re being used
24 hours a day to make masks for health care providers.
Nick Romero, a Yakima Maker Space board member and owner of Thrive Industries LLC, became aware of the need for masks when his mother, a nurse in Toppenish, said the hospital staff was running out.
“My motivation in this was personal,” Romero said. “I have friends and family in the medical field. When I heard that my mom was in need of masks, I said, ‘Let’s figure out how to make something work.’”
Along with Maker Space members Nathan Gibson and Jeremy Wuitschick, Romero printed out three different styles of surgical masks.
The small team then met with hospital staff from Virginia Mason Memorial, Astria Toppenish and Astria Sunnyside…
