(KNSI) – Families of healthcare workers who have died due to COVID-19 related complications can apply for a new grant from the Frontline Families Fund.
Jeremy Wells, senior vice-president of philanthropic services, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, explains that the fund provides emergency grants and scholarships and is designed for those who didn’t leave behind a large amount of money.
“Let’s say they were a nursing aide or something that’s not a highly paid profession, versus a physician that passed, you know, who had a $5 or $10 million life-insurance policy.”
There are two phases for the grants. One provides up to $15,000 for funeral costs, and the other helps out with up to $60,000 for long-term expenses. The fund was launched with the help of infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Osterholm.
“I think the challenge we have today is just, you know, letting healthcare workers know that if they’re coming to work putting their life on the line, that we are going to do what we can to take care of their families if something happens to them.”
Osterholm adds that the U.S. healthcare system needs to be mindful of the long-term effects for workers still on the frontlines. He says the care they’ve provided has taken a toll, including on their mental health.
Around 3,000 healthcare workers in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 related complications.
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