Canadian hospital foundations launch health care supplies and funding initiative
by CM Staff
Individuals and corporations can donate to The Frontline Fund, which will provide supplies, supports and research funding for health care practitioners
The Frontline Fund represents more than 100 hospital foundations across Canada. PHOTO: The Frontline Fund
TORONTO — Hospital foundation leaders across Canada have come together to launch The Frontline Fund – a way for individuals and corporations to provide frontline healthcare providers with the supplies, supports and research funding.
“The situation our frontline healthcare workers are facing is unprecedented,” said Caroline Riseboro, president and CEO, Trillium Health Partners Foundation, a member of the steering committee for The Frontline Fund. “They are working around the clock, at risk of contracting COVID-19. They are isolating themselves from their families to avoid spreading the virus. They are tired, anxious, and under relentless pressure to keep fighting. And yet, every day, they go back to work to protect us. We need to protect them, too.”
There are three ways to contribute to the program:
Supplies: Personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks, disinfectants, and disposable clothing; ventilators and testing equipment; digital infrastructure needed to enable virtual patient care.
Supports: Gift cards, peer-to-peer mental health support, and hotel rooms near the hospital will help our frontline workers protect their families, get much needed rest, and prepare themselves for the effort ahead, says the initiative’s organizers.
Research: Hospitals need funding to conduct vital research like clinical drug trials to discover therapeutic breakthroughs and intense vaccine development efforts, according to The Frontline Fund.
The Frontline Fund’s founding partner donors include TD Bank Group with a donation of $1 million, Maple Leaf Foods with a donation of $2.5 million and the CMA (Canadian Medical Association) Foundation, with a donation of $5 million.
Michael McCain, CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, said in a statement, “Our governments are doing everything they can to help, but they can’t do it alone. Our healthcare workers are not just on the front lines – they are the last line of defence against COVID-19 and without them, we are hopeless. We need to do everything we can to support them right now.”
All donations from individuals will be aggregated so that funds given remain in the province of the donor.
Individuals and corporations can donate to The Frontline Fund by visiting FrontlineFund.ca. The first round of fund disbursements will take place on April 30, 2020.
