MOUNT VERNON – Tucked into Mount Vernon’s densely populated Roundhouse District, between homes, auto care shops and manufacturers, sits Shamrock Plastics.
The business, started in 1989, is nondescript. A tan 12,350-square-foot facility is marked with one miniature green plaque. It sits far off Howard Street so trucks can back into shipping ports. Passersby would hardly notice.
Inside, however, one man is saving lives.
Jay Ruffner, son of Shamrock Plastics founder Tom Ruffner, owns the Mount Vernon facility. Over the last two weeks, as the novel coronavirus has swept across Ohio, Ruffner has been busy manufacturing protective shields for local hospitals, transit systems and businesses.
He’s been working overtime to protect those on the front lines of the pandemic.
“To be able to provide that and just help our people be safer … it feels good, but it’s part of what we do,” Ruffner said. “I think that this is sort of who we are (and what) we should all be called to do right now, and feel that we’re called to do, is help in any way we can.”
With the help of head associate Andy Marsell, Ruffner has shifted his product line in recent weeks to meet local needs. Shamrock typically makes things like retail display boxes and cigar holders. Now it’s churning out plastic shields to protect doctors, bus drivers and grocery store workers.
‘Another layer of protection’
It all began two weeks ago, Ruffner said. His wife, Shawnda, works as a nurse in Knox Community Hospital’s cardiac care unit. She learned from a coworker that a doctor in Taiwan had designed a device that would allow doctors to safely intubate patients – a key concern amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The doctor, an anesthesiologist named Lai Hsien-yung, designed a transparent plastic box that would shield doctors and nurses from airborne particles during the intubation process. Doctors have to intubate patients when installing ventilators, which are commonly used on COVID-19 patients struggling to breathe on their own.
Hsien-yung’s product, dubbed the “Aerosol box,” is easy to operate. Doctors place the transparent box over the patient’s head and neck (it is open on one side, for airflow), then stick their arms through holes on the back side of the box to complete the intubation process.
“It’s just another layer of PPE, another layer of protection that can be offered to the healthcare workers and the patients, just to keep us all a little bit safer,” Ruffner explained.
Hsien-yung posted his design plans online in January, hopeful that other hospitals around the world would utilize it, according to the Taiwan News. He is not seeking a patent and is not looking to sell his product. His main goal is to provide a solution for hospitals faced with shortages of personal protective equipment.
Knox Community Hospital noticed Hsien-yung’s work, and Shawnda alerted Jay last Wednesday. The next day he contracted with KCH and built an initial prototype (it took less than an hour, Ruffner said). He took it over to the hospital that day and watched as doctors and nurses tested it. They provided immediate feedback, and Ruffner went back to the shop to improve the product.
Last Friday, he manufactured and delivered three boxes to the hospital.
Ruffner’s product differs slightly from Hsien-yung’s original design. The Mount Vernon-made box features two sets of holes, as opposed to one, so that nurses can work alongside doctors during the intubation process. Ruffner manufactured boxes with different-sized holes as well, making the product versatile and practical for all doctors.
Ruffner precisely cut each hole, so that no air space is left when doctors extend their arms fully through the device.
In a time where hospitals across the state are bracing for Ohio’s predicted coronavirus surge – and rushing to gather personal protective equipment – marketing director Jeff Scott said KCH appreciates Ruffner’s ingenuity.
“We are incredibly grateful to all the Knox County companies, organizations and agencies who have been providing support,” Scott said in a statement. “It is inspiring to have such innovative people in our community, like Mr. Ruffner, who are willing to drop everything and create something new that could make a real difference.
“While we are still working out the details of how these intubation boxes might best be used in our clinical settings, our hope is that they will provide another layer of protection for both our patients and medical staff.”
Ruffner didn’t stop there, though. Over the past week, he’s also manufactured plastic guards for Knox Area Transit and several local businesses.
The guards he made for KAT are meant to protect drivers, many of whom are elderly and more susceptible to infection, according to KAT Transit Administrator Martin McAvoy.
KAT has continued to offer rides, free of charge, for community members during the outbreak. McAvoy said around 150 people are using the buses every day to get groceries, make medical appointments and use the laundromat.
While KAT has disinfected the buses every day since March 16, McAvoy still felt concerned for the health of his drivers.
“I was looking for a way to get that next level (of safety) for our drivers,” McAvoy said.
McAvoy came to Ruffner with the idea on Monday, and by the end of the week, he had installed polycarbonate shields in nearly all of KAT’s 20 buses. McAvoy worked with Replex Plastics to get the polycarbonate material needed to make the shields, and Shamrock did the rest.
“Replex had the product and Shamrock could cut it for us,” McAvoy said. “I’m really happy to work with them.”
Ruffner has received requests from local business owners as well. Russ Mentzer, owner of the Mount Vernon Domino’s Pizza, paid Ruffner to make protective shields for his counter, so employees and customers would be protected from airborne particles.
Sam Gilardi, co-owner of Lanning’s Foods, worked with Ruffner to install protective shields in his grocery store. They are located in checkout lines and at the meat counter.
“There’s a little partition in between where they can hand you your product,” Ruffner explained. “The customer talks to the employee through the acrylic, just to protect any airborne particles or anything. It’s just an extra layer of PPE.”
Since he began making protective shields two weeks ago, Ruffner’s clientele has expanded. He has received order requests from hospitals in Texas, Dayton, and Coshocton County. He is currently working on plastic guards that will be installed in a Columbus library. He anticipates the demand for plastic shields will only increase.
“It’s not just hospitals, it’s not just grocery stores,” he said. “I think we’re gonna see this pretty much everywhere.”
The Mount Vernon way
Shamrock Plastics isn’t the only Mount Vernon manufacturer working to build PPE for those on the front line.
Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr said this week in a Facebook Live briefing that he’s seen widespread ingenuity from the local business community, as numerous companies have adapted to meet the needs of healthcare workers and first responders.
“We’re seeing even more generosity and coordination of services from our business community to support KCH and Knox Public Health, and other first responders in general,” Starr said. “Some companies are donating their own PPE to the hospital. Three other Mount Vernon-based companies have coordinated to re-tool, manufacture and package newly developed PPE for our hospital staff. Several restaurants bring in food and provide meals to our healthcare workforce each day.
“There are countless other acts of kindness and generosity, of our community taking care of each other. How we get through this pandemic is just as important as us getting through it. And frankly, when I see things like this and other examples of us pulling together, it’s really why I’m so hopeful.”
When told about Ruffner’s recent efforts, Starr was left speechless.
“When you have a local market demand, that somebody has the wherewithal to problem-solve and re-tool and manufacture that… it’s more than responsible,” Starr said. “It’s ingenious.”
As impressive as Mount Vernon’s response has been to the coronavirus outbreak, Starr said he isn’t surprised.
“It really goes back to the tradition in this community,” Starr said.
The city’s industrial core has a long history of coming through in the clutch.
During World War II, Cooper-Bessemer stopped producing gas engine compressors and started making diesel engines for the U.S. Navy. Mount Vernon Bridge Company stopped making bridges and started producing military landing craft. Shellmar halted metal can production and began making special packaging for food products used by the U.S. Army.
All three businesses were awarded the coveted Army-Navy ‘E’ Flag for “excellence in production.” The flags were presented in a “major military ceremony,” according to the Knox County Historical Society.
That tradition continues, Starr said, as evidenced by the work of people like Ruffner.
“It’s wonderful to see the responsiveness of the business community, helping out where we need to,” Starr said Friday. “We have such a rich tradition of that.
“Any time we’ve had a point of crisis in our community, we have such an entrepreneurial hotbed that can respond to it that I think it says a lot about the overall character of our business community.”
Area Development Foundation President Jeff Gottke also commended Ruffner for his work. He feels Ruffner’s attitude reflects that of the community at-large.
“What Shamrock Plastics has done to protect the community demonstrates an entrepreneurial spirit and civic pride that is necessary in these challenging times,” Gottke said in a statement.
“The people of Knox County are generous and compassionate toward each other and that is evident in what Shamrock, and others, have done to pitch in and do their part to keep Knox County residents healthy. Mr. Ruffner and his staff should be commended for using their resources to protect Knox County and areas well beyond.”
‘We are all in this together’
This ingenuity, however, comes at a cost. Ruffner has been working 12- to 16-hour days the last two weeks to meet the product demand.
“Then I’ve been going home, crashing, and doing it all again,” he said with a laugh.
But Ruffner doesn’t seem tired. He seems invigorated.
Ruffner said he’s been re-energized by the opportunity to help. Typically, Shamrock’s products aren’t considered necessary for human health (Ruffner had to send home his employees two weeks ago because his business was deemed ‘non-essential’ in the state’s stay-at-home order).
Now, however, Ruffner has a chance to directly impact people’s lives – and he’s taking full advantage of it.
“It feels good to be able to feel like you’re making a difference doing something that will help protect our people – our healthcare workers and the people that have to be out right now,” Ruffner said.
For Ruffner, it’s personal. His wife is a nurse. He has two young children – 16 and 8 – and older relatives in town. He grew up in Mount Vernon (graduated from MVHS in 2007), attended Mount Vernon Nazarene University and has worked at the family business since graduation.
He wants to protect his family and his friends. He wants to protect his hometown in what he called “crazy, unprecedented” times.
“I’ve pretty much told everybody in the medical industry that I know, ‘If you need something, I’ll drop everything I’m doing and make it first priority,’” Ruffner said. “This is the community that we live in, this is the community that I grew up in. I’ve lived here all my life – went to high school here, went to college here. So to be able to give back, to me, is one of the most important things.”
Ruffner continues to make protective shields for grocery and retail stores across the country. The plastic industry is experiencing a shortage, Ruffner said, because many companies are making similar products. He believes the demand will continue to rise.
“They want that extra layer of protection, because as far as we know, this isn’t going to be a one-off deal. They think it’s going to come back seasonally, sort of like the flu does…” Ruffner said. “It’s just an extra layer of protection between people … to help flatten that curve.”
Ruffner, like many other local manufacturers, is rising to the moment. He’s leading the way.
In a Facebook post announcing the creation of his intubation box, which was shared over 100 times, Ruffner urged friends and neighbors to “reach out if you need help.” He offered praise for local healthcare workers – “the real heroes,” he said – and reiterated Ohio’s six favorite words from the past month:
“We are all in this together.”
