Trojan Family Steps Up In Time of Need
March 30, 2020 | Trojan Athletic Fund, Trojan Outreach, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
Lawrence Fung is a dentist by trade.
But with the help of the Trojan Family, he has become so much more.
Fung, a USC alum three times over, a volunteer dentist for USC student-athletes and a member of the Trojan Athletic Fund, has temporarily shuttered his Culver City-based dental practice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"On Thursday, March 19, I woke up and dealt with the news of the governor saying we had a shelter in place and all non-essential employees should be at home," said Fung. "Having a dental practice, we are only open for emergencies, so I'm essentially shut down. So I was like, 'Alright, well what can I do? I can either sit at home and do nothing, just complain and stress over everything, or I can be productive and proactive and help in some way.'"
So Fung got to work. As a volunteer dentist for USC Athletics, Fung and the athletic trainers take digital molds to make custom mouthguards with the use of 3D printers. Since he has experience with 3D printing, he wanted to find a way to use it for good during these times of crisis.
Fung is a member of the USC Board of Governors, the USC Athletics Board of Counselors and the USC Dental School Board of Councilors, so his network is vast, and he has used that to his advantage. His USC connections led him to Burbank Dental, which has a partnership with USC's Dental School. They allowed Fung to retool their dental lab into a 3D printing center, where he got to work producing masks for healthcare providers.
Over the past week, most LA hospitals have had their mask needs met, so Fung shifted to working with an Irvine-based company to produce face shields. The face shields are meant to serve as an extra barrier for hospital workers, so that the virus would theoretically hit the shield first, then hit another line of defense with the N95 mask underneath. Fung has agreed to distribute 1,500 face shields to a large local pediatric hospital.
Fung noted that during this crisis, people feel compelled to help out. He said the best ways to help include donating to local hospitals (and making sure the donation goes toward the hospital acquiring face shields or masks), sharing hospital contacts with people like himself, and practicing good health and hygiene in order to stay out of the healthcare system while it's being flooded with COVID-19 patients.
The help Fung has received from members of the Trojan Family has reminded him how strong that bond really is.
"None of this would have been possible if I didn't have my USC contacts. It's pretty wild," he said. "Now that everyone's stuck inside, people naturally feel alone. But with USC and the Trojan Family, if you choose not to be alone, you're not going to be alone. Because you can always reach out to a Trojan."
The Trojan Family can reach out to Lawrence by emailing hello@siliconbeach.dental
But with the help of the Trojan Family, he has become so much more.
Fung, a USC alum three times over, a volunteer dentist for USC student-athletes and a member of the Trojan Athletic Fund, has temporarily shuttered his Culver City-based dental practice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"On Thursday, March 19, I woke up and dealt with the news of the governor saying we had a shelter in place and all non-essential employees should be at home," said Fung. "Having a dental practice, we are only open for emergencies, so I'm essentially shut down. So I was like, 'Alright, well what can I do? I can either sit at home and do nothing, just complain and stress over everything, or I can be productive and proactive and help in some way.'"
So Fung got to work. As a volunteer dentist for USC Athletics, Fung and the athletic trainers take digital molds to make custom mouthguards with the use of 3D printers. Since he has experience with 3D printing, he wanted to find a way to use it for good during these times of crisis.
Fung is a member of the USC Board of Governors, the USC Athletics Board of Counselors and the USC Dental School Board of Councilors, so his network is vast, and he has used that to his advantage. His USC connections led him to Burbank Dental, which has a partnership with USC's Dental School. They allowed Fung to retool their dental lab into a 3D printing center, where he got to work producing masks for healthcare providers.
Over the past week, most LA hospitals have had their mask needs met, so Fung shifted to working with an Irvine-based company to produce face shields. The face shields are meant to serve as an extra barrier for hospital workers, so that the virus would theoretically hit the shield first, then hit another line of defense with the N95 mask underneath. Fung has agreed to distribute 1,500 face shields to a large local pediatric hospital.Fung noted that during this crisis, people feel compelled to help out. He said the best ways to help include donating to local hospitals (and making sure the donation goes toward the hospital acquiring face shields or masks), sharing hospital contacts with people like himself, and practicing good health and hygiene in order to stay out of the healthcare system while it's being flooded with COVID-19 patients.
The help Fung has received from members of the Trojan Family has reminded him how strong that bond really is.
"None of this would have been possible if I didn't have my USC contacts. It's pretty wild," he said. "Now that everyone's stuck inside, people naturally feel alone. But with USC and the Trojan Family, if you choose not to be alone, you're not going to be alone. Because you can always reach out to a Trojan."
The Trojan Family can reach out to Lawrence by emailing hello@siliconbeach.dental
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