Providence stands in solidarity with caregivers and partners in India

Monday, October 11, 2021

Doctor in India preparing to vaccinate a woman

[2 MIN READ]

Key takeaways:

Providence implemented special initiatives to support caregivers in India during the pandemic.
Providence helped deploy greatly needed vaccines and medical supplies.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Providence caregivers and community partners, both domestically and around the world, have faced significant challenges and yet have remained steadfast in their commitment to serve the community, especially the poor and vulnerable. In India, like the rest of the world, COVID-19 has caused immeasurable suffering during the second wave of the pandemic. In service of our Mission and Values, Providence has stepped up to provide much needed support to caregivers, local hospitals, and non-profits in India to help meet some of their most pressing needs.

Caregivers first approach

Adopting a Caregivers First approach, Providence India announced several initiatives for the growing number of caregivers based in India to help them tide the pandemic. The benefits rolled out include unique health and wellness initiatives such as elderly care, bereavement leave, unrestricted COVID care leave, home quarantine coverage and emergency financial assistance. The organization also conducted two vaccination drives for caregivers and their families, in collaboration with Rainbow Hospitals, Hyderabad, and provided them unrestricted access to a healthcare management app for online doctor consultation, discounted lab tests and prescription drugs, a dedicated insurance hotline, and a Caregiver Assistance Program for 24x7 counseling support from qualified psychiatrists.

Financial support to combat COVID-19

Earlier this year, the St. Joseph Community Partnership Fund contributed $150,000, plus $26,080 of caregiver donations that Providence matched, and Denali, a Providence partner, committed an additional $100,000. With this funding, vital contributions were made toward COVID-19 response through multiple avenues, including St. Joseph Hospital in Nagpur, a part of the global community of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and toward helping United Way set up an intermediary COVID care hospital in Hitech City, Hyderabad. In addition, Providence worked with non-governmental organizations and hospital partners in India to deploy critically needed supplies throughout our service area, including 10,000 N95 masks supplied to the Telangana State Police Department, oxygen concentrators, medical equipment, disposables, ventilators, and emergency assistance for critical patients, all of which have been crucial in helping and treating COVID-19 patients.

Ongoing pandemic support

With the growth of our Providence team in India, we have hundreds of caregivers in these areas and assistance continues to remain available with timely COVID resources and tools as well as access to other support they may need.

To learn more about what we’re doing to help our communities and other programs, check out our Annual Report to our Communities.