Northwell Health is rewarding its own frontline workers with a $2,500 bonus and a week off of work that they can use anytime.
“Our dedicated staff’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of heroic,” said CEO Michael Dowling in a statement about the award.
Dowling said the healthcare organization wanted to support and motivate its team as they continue to work through the crisis.
“We celebrate their wins, recognize their heroic work and amplify the outpouring of community support they are receiving for their courageous actions,” he said.
According to the Northwell Health announcement about 4,500 of their employees are eligible for the award. That includes nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and other direct patient caregivers as well as environmental services workers, housekeepers and those in outpatient and corporate roles who they say “went above and beyond in working behind the scenes to maintain effective operations during an unprecedented surge in patient volume.”
Northwell hospitals have treated and discharged more than 6,100 Covid patients.
More than 2,600 are still hospitalized.
Northwell also expanded its mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being programs for its staff members. That includes access to onsite support sessions for anyone with emotional distress and struggling to cope with the situation.
They also said that they have been offering housing for front-line caregivers fearful of going home and potentially exposing family members to the virus.
They also launched a 24-hour phone line called the Employee Emotional Resource Center, to support employees and their loved ones. Northwell said that the program provides support services, including digital tools to help assess/address emotional and well-being needs, licensed social workers and behavioral health experts and certified well-being coaches specializing in nutrition and exercise.
Joseph Moscola, Northwell’s senior vice president and chief people officer cheered the medical staff for their hard work and called the battle against Covid-19 grueling for frontline workers.
“Great people shine brightly in times of crisis, and thousands of our team members rose to confront the worst public health crisis of a lifetime,” Moscola said.