Siemens Foundation provides $1.5 million to 12 community health centers to support COVID-19 response efforts
A total of $1.5 million is being provided by the Siemens Foundation to community health centers across 12 U.S. cities to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result of COVID-19, these health centers face a shortage of funding to stay operational and maintain a sufficient workforce, further impeding their ability to provide affordable healthcare at a critical time, says Siemens. The non-profit organization established by Siemens USA, including funding provided by Siemens Healthineers, says it is committed to supporting these critical healthcare providers so they can continue serving their communities when they are needed most.
“As the COVID-19 crisis disproportionately threatens lower-income and medically underserved communities, it’s important for us to support the institutions that sustain our social compact,” said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “Community health centers and their staff are on the front lines providing primary care every day and they now play an especially critical role in our medical services infrastructure when emergency services and hospital settings are overwhelmed. Vital services like these are paramount to advancing equity in America.”
The following health centers were selected using equity criteria developed by the Siemens Foundation in consultation with the National Association of Community Health Centers, the Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers and Siemens:
- Chase Brexton Health Services in Baltimore
- Chicago Family Health Center in Chicago
- Western Wayne Family Health Centers in Metro Detroit
- Daughters of Charity Services/Marillac Community Health Center in New Orleans
- Delaware Valley Community Health, Inc., in Philadelphia
- Stride Community Health Center in Denver
- Newark Community Health Centers, Inc., in Newark
- WATTS Healthcare Corporation in Los Angeles
- Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Health Care in Washington, D.C.
- Morris Heights Health Center, Inc., in New York
- Community Health Centers in Orlando
- International Community Health Services in Seattle
The $1.5-million commitment is funded, in part, by the Siemens Healthineers Fund of the Siemens Foundation, supported by Siemens Healthineers business in the United States. The foundation says the centers will receive the investments over the next few weeks and will be free to use the funding however they deem it is most needed.
“It is a critical time to ensure all patients and families are able to access the care they need,” said Dave Pacitti, Siemens Foundation Board of Directors member; president of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.; and head of the Americas for Siemens Healthineers. “The nation’s community health centers are a vital safety net for millions of patients, and these investments will help them to continue providing affordable care that strengthens the entire U.S. healthcare system in combating the pandemic.”
The foundation’s efforts complement Siemens’ and Siemens Healthineers’ collective efforts to combat COVID-19 by supporting critical infrastructure and by helping state and local governments address urgent healthcare needs. The company’s employees are maintaining essential operations to support hospitals, power plants, government facilities, military sites, manufacturing locations and data centers. They’re also supporting critical city services such as transportation, water and waste and national security emergency response systems.
“We are all asking ourselves a simple question: What can we do?” said Barbara Humpton, Siemens Foundation chair and CEO of Siemens USA. “Our company has been focused on ensuring that no American, or any community, is disconnected from essential services, and right now, no service is more essential than healthcare. The Siemens Foundation’s efforts will support quality care that everyone in America deserves and that our country needs in order to overcome this crisis.”
Siemens is also a part of collaborative on-the-ground effort to support the expansion of existing and new hospital spaces, ensuring these facilities have reliable power, fire and life safety systems, and the tools they need to treat patients. Siemens Healthineers says it is committed to providing a range of solutions necessary for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with COVID-19 – from a test kit used to aid in the diagnosis of COVID-19 disease to portable X-ray, ultrasound and blood gas systems used in monitoring for patients, as well as unique cloud-based platforms and remote monitoring systems to assist front-line healthcare providers.
