(CNN) Hospitals and medical facilities around the United States are reporting critical shortages of the protective equipment they need to keep their workers and patients safe, so some DIYers are coming up with homemade solutions to help fill the void.

In Billings, Montana, some healthcare professionals are using 3D printers to make reusable plastic face masks. The masks are then fitted with pieces of surgical masks which can be swapped out as needed.

The plastic mask uses a small square of a surgical mask as a filter.

The surgical masks are cut into smaller squares that can be clipped into the plastic mask to serve as a filter, Dusty Richardson, a neurosurgeon at the Billings Clinic told CNN.

"The filter can be used for a day and you can change it out the next day, but I do wash my mask out frequently," Richardson said.

The plastic can be cleaned with soap and water, bleach and other disinfecting products. Richardson estimates healthcare workers can get six to 10 uses out of a single surgical mask.

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