BIZ // health and recovery
Mississippi Unites to Combat COVID-19 Crisis // by Dustin Cardon
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n the wake of COVID-19, many Mississippians and Mississippi-based schools, businesses and organizations have banded together to help residents across the state cope through the crisis, be it through donations of time, money and resources.
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Belhaven University First Responder Scholarship Belhaven University recently announced a new First Responder Scholarship to help reduce tuition for first responders during the COVID-19 crisis, along with a no-cost opportunity for people to contribute to the new program. Belhaven is partnering with Express Feedback for Good to launch a 30-day campaign to create up to $100,000 for the scholarship fund. It will offer first responders looking to enroll in Belhaven’s adult degree completion, graduate or online programs a 20% scholarship. Express Feedback for Good is a program that allows users to share opinions on companies and brands they care about. Through Tuesday, May 26, every time a participant shares a piece of feedback through Express Feedback for Good, the company will donate $2 in support of Belhaven’s first responder scholarship. For more information on Express Feedback for good, call 469-638-6930 or visit hundredxinc.com. USM Partnering with Hospitals on COVID-19 Testing The University of Southern Mississippi is partnering with health-care pro-
Women’s Foundation of Mississippi Grants for Women’s Health Aid The Women’s Foundation of Mississippi, a public grant-making foundation focused on improving conditions for women and girls across the state, announced rapid response grant awards totaling $55,000 for 11 Mississippi-based nonprofit agencies and programs directly serving some of our state’s most vulnerable women and families in wake of the public health crisis caused by COVID-19. Awards will support organizations across the state that serve women and families, many at or below the poverty level who are already struggling, and find themselves even more severely impacted now. Many Mississippi women work in job sectors that are being hit the hardest by COVID-19: health care, retail, food services, social services and education. These funds are available for immediate use by the granted organizations to help them continue serving their communities.
personal protective equipment to protect health-care professionals and others during the pandemic. Molina is also working with partner providers facing low or depleted PPE supplies and donating more than 17,000 three-ply masks, 4,000 N95 masks and 7,000 nitrile medical gloves to small clinics, federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics and larger health systems. The company previously made a $36,000 donation to 14 Mississippi organizations that are providing food and other resources to individuals and families in need. Molina has waived all cost share and prior authorization requirements for COVID-19 services for all health insurance products offered in Mississippi. The organization is also providing virtual urgent care for Medicaid and Marketplace members through its partnership with Teladoc. For information on how to access this Molina Healthcare service, visit its website courtesty University of Southern Mississippi
May 13 - 26, 2020 • jfp.ms
UMMC Aiding Jackson Residents Through EversCare Food Pantry The University of Mississippi Medical Center EversCare Ambulatory Clinic is housed at the Jackson Medical Mall and is part of the Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities. The UMMC health system serves residents across the state and also serves as the safety-net hospital for Mississippi’s poor, disadvantaged, under- and uninsured patient populations. For this reason, patients in every region of the state, including the Mississippi Delta, are eligible for services, physician care, specialized treatments and services offered through EversCare Food Pantry.
viders at Forrest General Hospital and Hattiesburg Clinic on efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic through increased testing. Researchers at USM’s Center for Molecular and Cellular Biosciences and the Mississippi IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence will provide technical laboratory support and help transport samples to outside labs. USM will also help the clinics develop a workflow to perform up to 50 highpriority tests per day with a turn-around time of 24 hours or less. The USM medical team tested COVID-19 samples at the university using its own viral transport medium and established that it was reliable and matched the Mississippi State Department of Health’s test results, a press release from USM says. While USM personnel will not receive patient data and are not involved in patient contact, clinical decisions or referrals, clinicians at Forrest General Hospital and Hattiesburg Clinic will prioritize samples sent to USM for testing, interpret all test results and handle patient follow-up.
Fleet Feet Offering Essential Workers Discount Fleet Feet Sports is offering a 20% discount on certain shoe brands to all health-care and other essential workers during the COVID-19 crisis. The discounted brands include Saucony, Asics, Karhu, New Balance and Altra. The store is also hosting a running-focused social media series called “Up & Running” to offer advice on running and training safely during the pandemic. The series is available on Anna Wan, mathematics professor at USM, used a 3-D printer to make 250 respirator masks Fleet Feet’s Facebook and for medical professionals in the Pine Belt who are treating COVID-19 patients. Instagram pages. Fleet Feet’s stores in or call 1-800-Teladoc. Flowood and Ridgeland are open for call-ins Molina Healthcare Donations Molina members can receive free and online curbside orders from 10 a.m. to for COVID-19 Care In response to the COVID-19 pan- home delivery of prescriptions through 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For information, call 769-235-4786 or 601- demic, Molina Healthcare of Mississippi any CVS Pharmacy. is donating $50,000 for the purchase of Molina is also offering its Coronavi899-9696 or visit fleetfeetjackson.com.
