U of M medical students offer free childcare to health care workers on front lines of coronavirus
A group of University of Minnesota medical students are donating their time to help care for the children of the state's healthcare workers.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - University of Minnesota medical students are stepping up to help after nurses, doctors and hospital workers all over the state realized they didn’t have anyone to care for their children after the Governor closed schools earlier this week.
Cathy Gallo is a personal care assistant with five kids, including one with special needs.
U of M medical students offer free childcare to health care workers on front lines of coronavirus
University of Minnesota medical students are stepping up to help after nurses, doctors and hospital workers all over the state realized they didn’t have anyone to care for their children after the Governor closed schools earlier this week.
She says she and many others feel like they need to choose between duty to their patients and duty as a mother.
“We have to figure this out together,” she said. “It sucks for everybody.”
While these workers are offered childcare, it’s not a simple process, according to Gallo.
So, a pair of medical students at the University of Minnesota decided to do something.
“I think we felt pretty dissatisfied just sitting around twittling our thumbs,” said Sruthi Shankar.
So, they took to Twitter offering free childcare to hospital workers across the Twin Cities.
“A lot of the people who are at the front lines working are our role models and mentors and we wanted to say, hey, we see you. We support you,” Shankar added.
In only 48 hours, they had 150 providers request care and a ton of medical students step in to fill those shifts.
“I mean, we’ve gotten messages that have said, without this service, I won’t be able to show up to work,” said Sara Lederman, another student.
The gesture proves that even in times of social distancing, there are people willing to step in.