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Set builders construct life-saving intubation boxes for local hospitals

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Volunteers make a donation to a hospital. (Photo Courtesy of Bret Lehne)

BY BEN VERDE

With six people working at once, the volunteers crank out multiple boxes a day, using materials purchased with money from an online fundraiser.

Each box requires roughly two hours of manpower, according to Lehne. The dimensions are cut out of plexiglass, holes are drilled for doctors to insert their arms when placing ventilator tubes into patients, the edges are sanded down, and the pieces are joined by a solvent that breaks down the plastic on a molecular level. The boxes sit for 48 hours to firm before being transported to hospitals in need.

So far, 46 boxes have been delivered to hospitals including hard-hit Elmhurst Hospital, Brooklyn Hospital, and hospitals in New Rochelle, New Jersey and Philadelphia. The donation process is handled by FEEL, a group of film industry workers who coordinate relief efforts, leaving Lehne and his team to focus on manufacturing.

While New York’s curve appears to be flattening, Lehne says he has seen no change in demand, and hopes to keep assembling the life-saving gadgets for as long as there is a need for them.

“I’m going to keep going until one of two things happen — we run out of money or we run out of demand, and neither of those things seem to be on the horizon,” he said. “It just feels really good to help.”

This story first appeared on brooklynpaper.com.