Suffolk Boy, 12, Donates Face Shields To Commack Rehab Center

COMMACK, NY — Front-line workers at Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Commack waging a battle against the coronavirus got a special gift from a 12-year-old Remsenburg boy, the facility said in a news release. Nick Borruso, 12, used his 3-D printers at home to create medical face shields for Gurwin’s healthcare team. Nick is a student at Westhampton Middle School.

"[He] embarked on the selfless project after learning about the shortage of appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers treating patients with COVID-19," Gurwin Jewish stated.

With school closed and ample time on his hands, Nick scoured the internet for ways to create much-needed face shields. His search led him to a Connecticut doctor who emailed the 3-D printing files to produce face shields, and with some help from a GoFundMe campaign, Nick was able to purchase additional 3-D printers and supplies to produce "NIH-approved shields for clinical use" for hospitals on the east end, the rehab center said.

Using Facebook, Nick discovered the struggles Long Island nursing homes are enduring. He then donated enough masks to outfit the the Gurwin Center’s Rehabilitation team. He and his mother personally delivered the face shields to Gurwin Healthcare System president and Chief Executive Officer, Stuart B. Almer, last month.

"We are grateful and humbled by Nick’s generous spirit and his ingenuity," Almer said in the news release. "Our nursing home clinical teams function in the same capacity as those healthcare professionals in a hospital, caring for residents who have medically complex needs, and many who have been fighting COVID-19. We are touched and truly thankful to Nick and his family for their concern about the welfare of our team."

Nick’s donation played an important role in helping more than 45 Gurwin residents recover from COVID-19, according to the rehab center.

"After talking with [the people at Gurwin,] I realized what a crisis this really is for healthcare workers who don’t work for the bigger hospitals," Nick said when he visited Gurwin to drop off the face shields. His goal: "to provide PPE to anyone who needs it, free of charge."

Gurwin Healthcare System operates a 460-bed nursing and rehabilitation community in Commack, as well as an assisted living community on the same campus and two home care programs, amounting to more than 1,200 employees in the Healthcare System, the release states.

Like so many other hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, Gurwin has found it challenging to obtain supplies of proper PPE and other medical equipment during the pandemic.