The fund aims to provide financial help to hospital employees in Puerto Rico who have experienced significant property loss or damage from the recent hurricanes.
Hurricanes Irma and Maria have left millions of people in Puerto Rico—including the island’s hospital employees—in desperate need of shelter, food, clean water, and medical attention.
That’s why the American Hospital Association has activated The Care Fund, which will provide financial help to hospital employees in Puerto Rico who have experienced significant property loss or damage from the storms.
“Not only were hospital employees throughout Puerto Rico faced with the difficulty of taking care of their patients during the hurricanes and their aftermath, but they also experienced their own personal losses and had to leave the care of their families to others,” according to The Care Fund’s website.
Many hospitals have been open since the hurricane but are operating on generators and supplies are running out, according to media reports.
The AHA has contributed an initial $50,000 to the fund, and is seeking further donations via thecarefund.net.
The AHA says it’s working with The Puerto Rico Hospital Association and hospitals throughout Puerto Rico. Its 501(c)(3) organization will collect contributions in a segregated account and will distribute the funds to hospitals in Puerto Rico.
Each hospital will identify the employees with the most significant needs and disperse the funds accordingly, AHA says.
“Hospital employees in Puerto Rico have shown the courage, strength, resilience, and compassion of caregiving,” says a statement on TheCareFund.net. “They need our help now.”
The AHA notes that the Florida and Texas hospital associations also continue to seek donations as they recover from Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.
Alexandra Wilson Pecci is an editor for HealthLeaders.
