June 19, 2020 | Grace Merritt, UConn Foundation

Stanley Black & Decker, Hartford Foundation Donate $100,000 to UConn Health Frontline Workers

tanley Black & Decker and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving recently donated a total of $100,000 to UConn Health to support health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle.

people in front of a hosptial

Bill Murowski, CEO Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, chief nursing officer Caryl Ryan, and chief quality officer Dr. Scott Allen of UConn Health accepts a personal protective equipment donation from human resources leader Deepa Bhatia and VP & chief architect of IT Application Services Joemice Kallely from the Asian Heritage Network at Stanley Black and Decker on June 5, 2020. (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health photo)

Stanley Black & Decker and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving recently donated a total of $100,000 to UConn Health to support health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle.

Each gave $50,000 to help buy personal protective equipment (PPE) and pay for several weeks of childcare support and temporary housing for UConn employees while they treat patients with the coronavirus.

As part of Stanley Black & Decker’s gift, employees in the company’s Asian Heritage Network resource group donated $2,500 worth of personal protective equipment, including 6,800 masks, gloves, and surface sanitizer.

The financial gifts helped pay for about 10 weeks of childcare as well as temporary lodging for UConn Health employees on the frontlines. Specifically, it paid for lodging at two local hotels for about 30 employees who did not have COVID-19 symptoms but feared exposing high-risk family members to the virus, said Janel Simpson, chief administrative officer of UConn Health. It also covered the cost of rooms and meals for employees with symptoms who were housed on the campus of Central Connecticut State University.

“The impact of these gifts is tremendous,” Simpson said. “For those who are putting their lives on the line, this gave them some peace of mind.”

people talking with face maks on
Dr. Scott Allen accepts a personal protective equipment donation from Deepa Bhatia and Joemice Kallely from the Asian Heritage Network at Stanley Black and Decker on June 5, 2020. (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health photo)

Both Stanley Black & Decker and the Hartford Foundation said their gifts were part of broader campaigns they each have launched to support local healthcare communities during the pandemic.

“Stanley Black & Decker is immensely proud of the work that UConn Health is doing in the fight against COVID-19,” said Abigail Dreher, public affairs director for Stanley Black & Decker. “We’re honored to help care for their employees who are on the front lines of this pandemic every day.”

Jay Williams, president of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, said the foundation has been focused on addressing the basic human needs of the most vulnerable communities during the health crisis.

“We know that significant federal resources have come down from the CARES Act, but we also know that health care systems needed flexible dollars to be able to protect their staff and the people that were seeking their services,” Williams said.

Scott Allen, MD, chief medical officer at UConn Health and associate professor of medicine, said the gifts were critical in helping health-care workers focus on caring for COVID-19 patients.

“It gave us the flexibility to help our employees with childcare support and allowed us to provide temporary housing so they wouldn’t bring the virus home to their families,” Dr. Allen said. “We are really grateful for these critical gifts.”

Donate to the UConn Health COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund here.