From formula to PPE, individuals and organizations step up to fulfill community needs
By Kortney Scroger
When the COVID-19 outbreak first began, there were a number of overwhelming needs facing health care teams across MultiCare.
Here are just a few examples of the ways community members have supported MultiCare’s COVID-19 efforts.
Mary Bridge Brigade join forces with WIC to feed babies in need
With the unexpected shortage of many supplies in grocery stores throughout Washington, members of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) were unable to find formula for babies in their program.
The Mary Bridge Brigade — Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital’s longest supporter — answered the call. They purchased 1,170 cans of formulas to provide a 30-day supply for 115 infants in surrounding communities while grocery stores restock their inventories. Any unopened cans supplemented the supply at the Mary Bridge Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
This gift prevented countless families from potentially exposing themselves to COVID-19 while traveling to an emergency department or another location to get food for their children.
For nearly 100 years, the Mary Bridge Brigade has donated more than $35 million and countless volunteer hours to support health and healing for children at Mary Bridge Children’s.
Mobilized volunteers make thousands of masks and comfort strips
A small army of more than 500 community volunteers created more than 27,000 masks and
48,000 comfort strips that are placed under face shields. This critical donation of PPE, as well as the donated time and talent from the community to make them, are keeping health care providers, patients and the entire community safe.
“The response from our community was incredible,” Fran Waller, Executive Director of MultiCare Volunteer Services, says.
Volunteers were happy to help — often in ways that are much different than their normal duties. Diana Doolittle, for example, usually volunteers with the pet therapy program but offered her time to support COVID-19 response efforts instead.
“Volunteering during the pandemic allows me to continue to support the staff and families in a way that meets their tangible needs and reminds them they are not forgotten during this time,” Diana says.
You can support these volunteer efforts today.
Local food distributor feeds health care workers and their families in the Inland Northwest
During a pandemic, simple things like grocery shopping can present a big challenge — especially for health care workers. URM, a food distributor in the Inland Northwest, remedied this problem by donating 80 fully stocked grocery bags to MultiCare Deaconess
Hospital and 30 to MultiCare Valley Hospital, as well as several bags of fresh produce. It was a simple gesture that made a significant impact on frontline workers.
If you’d like to support health care workers at this time, consider making a gift to the COVID-19 Response Fund.
