MultiCare updates on donation needs amidst COVID-19 pandemic

MultiCare updates on donation needs amidst COVID-19 pandemic

TACOMA, Wash. —MultiCare Health System is grateful to the generous community members who are stepping up and making contributions to bolster MultiCare’s equipment inventory because of a global shortage of supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations of manufactured and homemade personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as food donations, have been hugely appreciated and helpful as we address this situation and care for our patients. MultiCare would like to provide an update on the organization’s donation needs.

Manufactured PPE: If people have unopened boxes of masks, gloves or gowns that they would like to donate they can drop them off between (11am -2pm) Monday through Friday at the hospital loading docks listed at the bottom of this release, where a volunteer coordinator will meet people and receive donations. Specifications of all donated products will be evaluated, and they will then be allocated accordingly. If opened containers of PPE are donated, these products will be placed through a cleaning process before distributed for use.

Homemade PPE: These homemade masks allow us to stretch our supply of the commercially made masks further and help keep our staff safe. Thanks to our generous community we currently have a good stock of homemade masks and do not require any more at this time. Our need for the masks may change in the future and we will reach out if that’s the case. Before we use any homemade masks, we evaluate the masks’ filtering capacity and will assign them to staff and/or patients according to the mask’s performance. They also go through a cleaning process before they are distributed.

Food Donations: We are grateful for donations of individually wrapped, commercially prepared food (e.g., granola bars) to provide snacks to our hard-working staff. Donations of food are gladly accepted from (11am-2pm, Monday-Friday) at the hospital loading docks noted below. If we receive more than can be used, we will donate extra food to the local food bank. If you would like to donate food directly to your local food bank, we suggest reaching out to them to find out their current needs. Please schedule food donations with Theresa Lerma, MultiCare Volunteer Services Coordinator, at talerma@multicare.org.

Blood Donations: Our local blood banks are running low and would appreciate your most precious donation, your blood. MultiCare does not have any donation sites at their facilities. For a list of sites where you can donate blood, please visit https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html.

Financial donations: MultiCare has established a COVID-19 Response Fund to honor and support caregivers, provide access to care and address emergent needs as this extraordinary health crisis continues. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution through the MultiCare Foundations, please visit www.support.multicare.org.

Food and Equipment Donation Sites:

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center Distribution Center

202 N Division St

Auburn, WA 98001

MultiCare Covington Medical Center Distribution Center

17700 SE 272nd St

Covington, 98042

MultiCare Deaconess Hospital

800 W 5th Avenue

Spokane, WA 99204

MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital Distribution Center

1421 3rd St SE

Puyallup, WA 98372

MultiCare Tacoma General/ Mary Bridge Children’s/ Allenmore Hospitals

402 S J St

Tacoma, Washington 98405

MultiCare Valley Hospital

12606 E Mission Avenue

Spokane Valley, WA 99216

About MultiCare: MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care organization with more than 18,000 team members, including employees, providers and volunteers. MultiCare has been caring for our community for well over a century, since the founding of Tacoma’s first hospital, and today is the largest community-based, locally governed health system in the state of Washington. MultiCare’s comprehensive system of health includes numerous primary care, urgent care and specialty services — including Immediate Clinic, MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care, Pulse Heart Institute and MultiCare Rockwood Clinic, the largest multispecialty clinic in the Inland Northwest region.

MultiCare to implement temporary pay and benefit program for all employees amidst COVID-19 pandemic

TACOMA, Wash. — MultiCare Health System is grateful to the health care professionals and employees who continue to work tirelessly to address the COVID-19 health crisis – and recognizes that this is a stressful situation for all. To address this, MultiCare is creating a temporary staffing, pay and benefit protection program for all MultiCare employees.

This protection will be applied retroactively starting Sunday, March 15, 2020, and will extend through Saturday, April 25, 2020. MultiCare will re-evaluate the program at that time.

A major reason for this program’s implementation is the fact that some specialties, as well as outpatient and surgery are seeing a decrease in volume as Washingtonian’s are ordered to shelter-in-place and as MultiCare shifts resources in anticipation of an increase in COVID-19 patients. MultiCare understands this adds an extra level of uncertainty for our team members who work in these areas and created the program to help alleviate this burden.

Under the program, employees who do not have enough work available in their home area or department may be asked to do emerging and critically needed work in another area. If re-deployment does not make sense based on the organization’s needs, some employees may be asked to stay home. In both situations, employees’ regular pay and benefits will be maintained.

Speaking about the new program, Bill Robertson, President and CEO of MultiCare Health System, said, “I have watched our team members and teams step forward, volunteering to help and support in so many ways. In these challenging times, we want to do all that we can to help our employees and their families feel supported and secure. It is inspiring to see how our employees are working to address the COVID-19 health crisis in our communities. We are grateful for all they do every day to care for our patients and communities.”

MultiCare Health System

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