EMS Cares: Loden and Adela Chung Assist Their Dad with Making 3D Printed Face Shields

Fourth-grader Loden Chung and first-grader Adela Chung have been helping their father, James, make 3D printed face shields for University Hospital in Newark and The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. 

“When my dad and I first got the 3D machine, I had no idea we would be doing such important work with it,” says Loden. “We bought this machine about a year ago because I wanted to learn how to use it. I made a lot of items like Titanic ships, fidget spinners, animals, and household items. My family watched a CNN special about making 3D printed masks for hospitals and I told my dad that I wanted to do it too.”

The family has donated 50 face shields in total. They plan to make more, but production is halted because of a delay in their shipment of filament and elastic band. 

“Amazon is delaying all non-essential items, so it has been difficult to obtain supplies lately,” says Mina, Loden and Adela’s mother.

A student at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark tweeted the letters that Loden and Adela sent to healthcare workers. Both letters were also mentioned in an appreciation video that Rutgers New Jersey Medical School created.

This is an important family effort, as the Chung’s have two family members who are doctors on Long Island. 

“The children are very proud of their Uncle Joe and Uncle Jimmy,” says Mina. “When the children heard that their uncles’ hospital in Long Island was also starting to run out of supplies, they busily began making more masks and will be able to complete them when the supplies arrive.”

“My Aunt Cindy is pregnant and my Uncle Joe [her husband] is a doctor saving people with COVID-19,” says Adela. “And they can’t be together right now. I thought about how I’m really thankful to all the heroes working at the hospital saving lives even though it is dangerous for them.”