We know that even though the holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and relaxation, for many that is not the case. It can be a struggle to pay bills, continue to support relatives, and to make ends meet at the end of the year. For nursing professionals especially, COVID-19 has made everything more difficult.
As 2021 came to a close, we wanted to do something that would make an impact on the lives of IntelyPros who were struggling. We established IntelyHEART – the IntelyCare Holiday Emergency Assistance Relief Trust. The purpose of the fund was to help nurses who were facing hardship over the holiday season by lessening their financial burdens.
Five relief categories were established for the fund – Medical Expenses; Personal Catastrophe; Basic Needs; Death of an Immediate Family Member; and Housing Insecurity. We fully expected that most of the IntelyHEART funds would be requested for some of the more emergent categories, such as Medical Expenses and Housing Insecurity. We were stunned to see that the vast majority of requests that came in were to help cover Basic Needs. 70% of the $500,000 fund went to alleviate financial burdens related to obtaining food, clothing, and other essentials.
We feel fortunate to have been able to provide this kind of support to our IntelyPros in a time when they really needed it, but we are disheartened that so many hardworking nurses are in the position of needing financial assistance to cover their basic needs.
Through our conversations with applicants, we learned that nurses in today’s climate are not afforded the access and opportunity they need to thrive and survive without stress in their lives. The ability to pick and choose their shifts through an app like IntelyCare takes an enormous amount of stress off their shoulders, but there is still more to be done to improve the lives of nurses and we are committed to working as hard as we can to be a part of that.
“Thank you very much for being there for us, and for showing us that you care. We can’t thank you enough for being our inspiration and knowing that you really care about us.” – CNA, Indiana, PA
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