Shifting Operations to Aid in the Fight Against COVID-19

 

On this episode of the MarketScale podcast, host Tyler Kern was joined by ModTruss Vice President, Worldwide Sales David Ostmann.

ModTruss typically centers its operations on providing strong, durable metal building kits that see use in a variety of industries and applications.

However, as is the case for many companies, the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted that focus, and ModTruss is doing what it can to support the frontline effort in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

“We’re in this together,” Ostmann said. “It’s going to take all of us working together to beat this and get our ‘normal’ back.”

To that end, CEO Patrick Santini, an Army field medic with an extensive engineering background, leapt into action.

Working with his wife, an ER physician, Santini developed a negative pressure containment unit.

“Really, within about four days, we went from an idea to a working prototype for our negative pressure (containment unit), or what they call an airborne infectious isolation room,” Ostmann said. “Furthermore, we repurposed our entertainment plastic panels … to introduce those as hard-barrier, bedside applications.”

These barriers are particularly useful for replacing inadequate pipe-and-drape separation methods and allowing for increased safety for patients and healthcare professionals, alike.

Looking ahead, Ostmann said added efficiencies and innovations could help develop the “new normal” the world will enter in the wake of COVID-19.

One such solution is already available in the form of LED screens that could be adapted to meet new needs highlighted by the pandemic.

“One of our partners in the entertainment world is Absen (America). They make beautiful LED panels,” Ostmann said. “Well, maybe they can repurpose their solutions into our COVID solution centers, where we’re not using our valuable resources – our people – to direct traffic. Maybe there’s signage that way that can direct traffic. … It’s looking at your solution from a different aspect.”

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Healthcare Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Leadership
How the Future of Work Is Being Reshaped by AI, Human Creativity, and Customer-Centered Leadership
May 21, 2026

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes industries, many professionals are asking the same urgent question: what happens when AI starts replacing not just repetitive tasks, but the foundational entry-level roles that once launched careers? According to Goldman Sachs Research, AI could expose the equivalent of 300 million jobs globally to automation, while potentially automating tasks…

Read More
finance
Dr. Silver Kung’s Path From $10 Million in Debt to a Multibillion-Dollar Finance Career
May 21, 2026

Global finance is being tested by forces that no balance sheet can fully predict: unstable supply chains, geopolitical shocks, tighter credit conditions and the accelerating rise of AI. In trade finance especially, success depends on more than capital; it requires judgment, discipline and the ability to see risk before it becomes disruption. As automation…

Read More
specialty pharmacy
At the Center of Care: How Specialty Pharmacy Aligns Patients, Providers, and Payers
May 21, 2026

As healthcare costs continue to rise, more patients are finding themselves navigating not just illness, but the growing complexity of paying for treatment. Specialty pharmacy sits right at the center of that challenge—often out of sight, but increasingly essential to how modern care actually works. These high-cost, high-touch therapies now make up more than…

Read More
Language development
Just Thinking… About How Multilingualism and Language Development Belong at the Center of Student Learning
May 20, 2026

For millions of students in America, learning English is only one part of a much larger academic story. A 2024 GAO report found that English learners in U.S. public schools grew from 4.5 million to 5 million students between fall 2010 and fall 2020, and that they speak more than 400 languages. That diversity…

Read More