St. John’s Resident Teams with His Family to Supply PPE

Roger Haas moved to St. John’s Home at the tail end of 2019. An engineer at Eastman Kodak for nearly four decades as well as the former chairman of the Rochester chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Roger spent his entire career utilizing the latest technology to solve problems.

About three months after his move to St. John’s, the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the United States, making it impossible for family members to visit him. It also created an urgent need for personal protective equipment (PPE) in nursing homes around New York and across the country.

Fortunately, Roger has been able to remain connected to his family members around the Rochester area while also working on a special project to help provide staff with what they need to do their job. “He has been busy coordinating with us a way to 3D print face shields for St. John’s employees,” says his daughter Emily.  Roger funded the cost of a 3D printer that members of his family have used to produce face shields over the past several weeks. A shipment of those face shields was delivered late last week.

According to Emily, Roger recruited several family members– including his son Marshall (age 43) and his grandson Chase (13)– “to get right to work printing shields for the staff who work every day to take care of him.”

“This makes me happy,” said Roger last week when he was able to inspect the face shields produced by his family nearby. He is proud not just for the equipment that was produced during a time of need, but that his family banded together under such unique circumstances to continue the Haas family tradition of innovation!