Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and the Medtronic Foundation announced a commitment of $3.8 million in support of COVID-19 relief.
The $3.8 million donation is earmarked for providing healthcare workers support and protection, as well as including mental heatlh support, operational support and food assistance to communities and organizations in need, adding to a $10 million pledge made at the beginning of the pandemic in March. The company’s total COVID-19 relief efforts include commitments of more than $46 million, according to a news release.
Included in the donation are emergency food assistance and hunger relief programs, mental health support and health worker grants, operational support for organizations and in-kind personal protective equipment (PPE) donations in underserved communities and those which are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic (such as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities).
Medtronic is donating more than 400,000 N95 surgical masks and 430,000 KN95 respirators, all of which will be distributed by International Medical Corps. Selected hospitals and facilities are in COVID-19 hot spots, while individuals may receive them directly as part of prevention efforts.
The foundation’s support extends to those focusing on rapid access to low-income communities such as the COVID-19 Action Fund for Africa, Americares, Direct Relief, Meals on Wheels, and numerous food banks. Medtronic awarded a $1.6 million grant package to those nonprofits.
“As the global pandemic continues to surge, our mission compels us to help ensure our courageous frontline healthcare workers have adequate protection,” Medtronic senior VP & chief quality officer Noel Colón said in the release. “We are proud to equip frontline health workers delivering critical care to those in need, as well as those most at-risk and most affected by the pandemic.”
“As the coronavirus pandemic surges around the world and in our own backyard, healthcare, food assistance, and mental health pressures are at all-time highs; it is crucial for us to deliver support quickly to counteract the disproportionate effect the virus has on underserved, marginalized communities,” added Medtronic Foundation president Paurvi Bhatt. “In this season of giving, we are also turning our gratitude into action by coming together with our partners to support these issues and the brave frontline health workers who are in need of services themselves.”
