Coronavirus: Central Texas Honors Medical Heroes

AUSTIN, TX — Not all heroes wear capes, but don stethoscopes, run ventilators and administer medicine as has been dramatically illustrated with the onset of coronavirus. To show appreciation of those on the front lines of the current coronavirus battle, St. David's HealthCare has launched a campaign for residents to express their gratitude.

Dubbed "HeroCare," the appreciation campaign honors health care workers with supportive gestures that can be made at homes or businesses to recognize their efforts. Playing a critical role in the best of times, health care workers are now dealing with a bolstered influx of patients amid the coronavirus outbreak. The respiratory ailment is caused by the COVID-19 virus, and is transmitted via respiratory droplet emitted from coughing or sneezing of those afflicted with the illness.

Tbis week, St. David’s HealthCare launched a community-wide appreciation campaign designed for residents to express their appreciation of those on the frontlines of the coronavirus battle. The campaign provides ideas for supportive gestures that can be made from homes or businesses to recognize healthcare workers.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in the Austin area. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily

“Many in our community have asked what they can do to help or show support to the selfless women and men in our hospitals who are caring for patients every day during this pandemic,” David Huffstutler, president and chief executive officer of St. David’s HealthCare, said in a prepared statement. “Through this HeroCare campaign, we have identified ways for the people of Central Texas to salute these healthcare heroes from our homes, yards, cars and businesses. They protect us with healthcare, and we’ll thank them with HeroCare.”

To that end, St. David’s HealthCare has created posters — in English and Spanish — available for people to download and affix to their windows. The healthcare system is also encouraging people to string lights in the shape of a heart on their homes and/or businesses as an additional way to show appreciation.

“As we dutifully wash our hands and work from our dining tables and living rooms — enduring social distancing and new grocery habits — these women and men suit up every single day and put themselves on the frontlines of the biggest public health emergency of our lifetimes,” Huffstutler added. “HeroCare is a small way for us to say thank you.”

Grim statistics updated daily by Austin Public Health officials on illness spread yield evidence of health workers' bolstered duties. At last check, health officials reported 554 confirmed cases of the respiratory illness across Travis County, with seven fatalities to date.

Related story: Coronavirus: Austin Illness Count Up To 554, 7th Death Reported

Patch reached out to Denise Bradley, vice president of communications and community affairs at St. David's HealthCare to learn more. During a phone chat, she described the heightened rigors of medical work in this time of coronavirus — an abstraction to those of us who are, thankfully, healthy but an all-too-real scenario for those on the frontlines of the current fight amid escalating rates of illness.

"All of those who walk the halls of our hospitals are saving lives," Bradle said. "These men and women suit up every single day and soldier onto the fronlines of the greatest emergency threat of our lifetime. To us, the patient they care for and serve, and to the community, they're heroes."

You won't get an argument from us.

In addition to the suggested forms of homage, Bradley suggested residents whose neighbors happen to be medical workers should check in on them to see if they need anything — retrieving groceries or having their pets fed and walked and the like — tasks that allevate their scheduled, representing one less thing to have to worry about.

To participate in the campaign, people can visit stdavids.com/covid-19/herocare.dot to download a HeroCare poster or learn more about other ways they can show their support for healthcare workers. Those wishing to spread the word on the effort on social media are urged to use the hashtag #HeroCare.

About St. David's HealthCare

St. David’s HealthCare St. David’s HealthCare includes seven of the area’s leading hospitals and is one of the largest health systems in Texas. The organization has been recognized with a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award — the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence. St. David’s HealthCare is the third-largest private employer in the Austin area, with more than 10,600 colleagues across 132 sites of care.

St. David’s HealthCare is a unique partnership between a hospital management company and two local non-profits—St. David’s Foundation and Georgetown Health Foundation. The proceeds from the operations of the hospitals fund the foundations, which, in turn, invest those dollars back into the community. Since the inception of St. David’s HealthCare in 1996, more than $535 million has been given back to the community to improve the health and healthcare of Central Texans.