Healthcare workers have been hitting it hard for months now. Specifically the IMED team at Intermountain Healthcare, who have been on the front lines of this battle in Utah, treating the first and most critical cases of COVID-19. They’ve been working double shifts and long hours for a month and a half before the state was quarantined; and some haven’t even left the hospital since the start of this. Their efforts have been tremendous in staving off the pandemic as much as possible. It’s humbling to think of how hard they’ve been working before the rest of us were even remotely impacted.

There’s no doubt companies and individuals are re-calibrating operations, some more complex and some more simple. A simple problem 97th Floor faced turned out to be an answer to a more complex problem for some of our state’s healthcare workers.

Every month 97th Floor has a company-wide meeting based out of our Utah headquarters. One of our favorite parts of the meeting is a catered breakfast from a local restaurant. As we approached our April meeting, we knew it would be different with everyone working remotely. Rather than simply forgoing the catered breakfast for this remote company meeting, our company decided we could take that $500 we would have spent on breakfast and use it to help feed our brave healthcare workers. Our CEO and COO also matched that amount with their personal funds so that we could give a more generous donation of $1,500.

How You Can Help

As one of the first companies to come forward with this kind of donation, we were able to test a system to help make future donations like this a possibility. Because of the nature of the virus, a lot of specific precautions need to be taken to ensure that donated meals are made and delivered safely. That means that the selected restaurant(s) need to take extra precautions when making, packaging and delivering the food. Nutrition Services at Intermountain Healthcare have done a lot of work in identifying and coordinating those details. Based on what 97th Floor was hoping to accomplish through our donation and all these other factors, we were paired with three local restaurants:

The negative impacts of COVID-19 on our economy have been felt by many, but especially the small local service businesses like those mentioned above. They have already been put in the tough situation of needing to lay off and reduce most of their staff. This order has come at a desperate time for these local businesses, and it’s allowed them to call in employees with extra work that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

These local businesses may be hurting, but they still are looking for ways to support our community in whatever way they can. Elizabeth’s Catering has an option that allows their customers to donate meals to feed healthcare workers. Gourmandise was inspired by our donation and wanted to help in their own way by adding beverages and cookies to the order.

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It’s Easier Than Ever to Make a Difference

It’s touched our hearts to see that because of one simple act, giving up a company breakfast, we’ve been able to uplift a deserving group and also help support local businesses. Now that there’s a process in place, we’d love for others to help out. There are so many different types of donations, anyone can find a way to get involved. Imagine the good we could do as a community if we all found some way to give during this time.

If you are interested in taking advantage of the new process of getting Utah healthcare workers fed while supporting local businesses, please reach out to either the following, who both help with corporate relations and giving at Intermountain Healthcare:

Intermountain Healthcare has also set up a page that allows anybody to make a cash donation along with other ways you can make a difference.

Here’s to the amazing healthcare workers! Stay safe and stay healthy.