HIGHLIGHTS | Offer and request support
- Visit the Care & Share website.
- In the first week there were over 100 offers and 50 requests.
- Support includes child care, pet care, grocery shopping and more.
A website to help match UW Medicine frontline employees with child care has blossomed into a platform for kindness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UW Medicine Care & Share website was launched March 16 after a week of intense planning, coding and testing. Already, staff in the Department of Medicine are getting calls from other organizations and colleges on how to set it up — including the Washington State Hospital Association and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s also received national recognition by the American Academy of Medical Colleges.
How it works
The site is simple. People with UW Medicine credentials login and post an offer. Those looking for help can search by location, title and keywords. Someone interested just clicks on the offer and is directed to “request an offer.” The exchange is private. The offers are for anyone at UW Medicine, not just physicians.
“It’s overwhelming to see the generosity of people,” says Patty Adams, interim director for the Department of Medicine, the largest department in the UW School of Medicine with more than 1,000 full-time and more than 1,200 voluntary clinical faculty members working in 13 divisions.
Working together
In a week, about 100 offers have been made, with over 50 requests for help, says Adams.
Most of the offers are for child care and pet sitting. They also include grocery shopping and getting prescriptions. One person posted that Seattle chef Renee Erickson of The Whale Wins and other restaurants offered free meals.
The idea was a collaboration between Barbara Jung, MD, Trish Kritek, MD, and leaders in the Department of Medicine. The actual vision and development of the site is thanks to the Department’s IT team: Walt Morrison, Will Spangler and Jay Birn.
The teams worked around the clock and the weekend to launch the site in just a week.
“When people feel down, I say: look at the site — what a great community we have,” says Adams.
Guest Author: Bobbie Nodell
