The South Jersey COVID-19 Response Fund, which is managed by Community Foundation of South Jersey (CFSJ), awarded $10,000 to Inspira Health in a new round of grant allocations. The grant allows Inspira Health to fund emergency assistance directed to the Human Resources Department in order to surge their hospital staff.
Inspira Health worked diligently to properly prepare for the spike in COVID-19 cases by increasing the amount of personal protective equipment, ventilators, and beds; while also turning standard care patient areas into negative pressure rooms and erecting tents outside its emergency departments to enhance safety in the event ER volumes rose sharply. Inspira Health was able to pay for some of these preparations with the assistance of emergency funds.
Most recently, the South Jersey Response Fund grant Inspira received was used to recruit additional hospital employees and contribute to hospital readiness. This included recruiting an additional 62 staff members to care for the high volume of COVID-19 patients during the height of the pandemic such as nurse aides, lab assistants, and respiratory staff.
“We are very thankful to the Community Foundation of South Jersey for the grant they awarded our health network as part of the COVID-19 Response Fund,” said Nick Sena, Director of Development of Inspira Health Foundation. “The funding helped us make the necessary additions to our staff to keep our community safe as we responded to the effects of the virus.”
“We are so proud to provide Inspira Health with a grant from the COVID-19 Response Fund,” said Andy Fraizer, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of South Jersey. “The heroes at Inspira have done so much for our community, and this grant is only a small token of our appreciation for their dedication to defeating this virus.”
The Community Foundation of South Jersey COVID-19 Response Fund continues to assist local nonprofits that need support to serve communities impacted by the pandemic. To date, the Fund has raised over $1 million in donations, but this is not enough to meet the overwhelming need. If you would like to support the only such Fund where donations stay in our South Jersey region, please visit southjerseyresponsefund.org.