While 2020 will likely be associated with a global public health crisis and the severe economic hardship it created, we’ll also be reminded of the many ways our HCA Healthcare family banded together to take care of our communities and each other.

During what CEO Sam Hazen calls an “unprecedented time with immense challenges and uncertainties,” the HCA Healthcare Hope Fund received a record number of donations to aid colleagues affected by COVID-19, including $1 million from The Frist Foundation. Additionally, HCA Healthcare allocated more than $1 million in charitable funds for grants to aid COVID-19 relief efforts and address community needs through the HCA Healthcare Foundation and a tax-exempt trust.

“The HCA Healthcare Hope Fund sends an important message by providing an avenue for us to take care of our colleagues so that they, in turn, can care for our patients,” says Joanne Pulles, vice president of community engagement and president of the HCA Healthcare Foundation.

The Frist Foundation contribution is “just one example of how HCA Healthcare rallies around each other to provide support when devastation strikes,” says Sam.

As our colleagues on the front lines care for our patients, local organizations are being praised for the “remarkable ways they’ve stepped up to address the needs of their communities,” including emergency response, food shortages and childcare for healthcare workers and first responders.

HCA Healthcare’s one-time grants of between $10,000 and $250,000 assist food banks as well as community foundations focused on the COVID-19 response. For Natalie Jayroe, whose Louisiana charity helps feed some of the neediest in her community, the HCA Healthcare Foundation grant came at a critical time.

“We’re so honored by this gift of love,” says Natalie, president and chief executive officer of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana. “It’s because of generous support from partners like HCA Healthcare that our staff and volunteers will be able to provide meals and emergency food in the months to come for those most impacted.”

Many colleagues have turned to the HCA Healthcare Hope Fund for support after their spouse lost their job or due to other unexpected financial challenges caused by the pandemic. In addition to assisting with critical household expenses as it always has, the fund is also offering a special financial program to help working parents with childcare costs due to temporary school closures. 

Another significant aspect of the organization’s response to COVID-19: protecting jobs. The pandemic pay continuation programs support approximately 120,000 full- and part-time colleagues who are working fewer hours as a result of temporarily reduced patient volumes. The pay continuation programs are designed to assist colleagues until we better understand the long-term implications of the pandemic on the enterprise.

Along with other senior executives, Sam made a personal investment in relief efforts: He donated 100% of his pay during April and May to the HCA Healthcare Hope Fund. Additionally, all 27 members of the senior leadership team have either contributed their pay or greatly increased their contributions to support our colleagues in need. Hospital CEOs and their leadership teams across the organization have also joined the effort. The HCA Healthcare Board of Directors waived their cash compensation for the remainder of the year, allowing the organization to make additional contributions to the Hope Fund.