MTSA is donating mission dollars to fund Frontline Foods-Nashville

“MTSA has partnered with Frontline Foods – Nashville to provide meals and hydration to front-line healthcare workers, who are caring for COVID-19 patients in local Nashville hospitals,” announced Chris Hulin, DNP, MBA, CRNA. He continued saying that current MTSA SRNA Emily Colwell initiated the conversation about the opportunity with the School after she collaborated with others to form the Nashville Frontline Foods chapter. He said, “we are most pleased to be involved and participate in this mission to assist in providing some relief for the front-line medical workers working in COVID-19 pandemic conditions.”

Those interested in helping the effort are asked to visit MTSA’s Facebook page to nominate a local Nashville area hospital unit whose staff are serving on the COVID-19 front lines for a free meal. Visit facebook.com/MTSAnesthesia.

Nomination deadline is April 22 at noon. Plans are for meals and drinks to go to hospitals the week of April 27 – May 1.

More information about this effort, as well as a link to donate to help provide more meals, is available at mtsa.edu/meals.

The Frontline Foods coalition is a grassroots national movement that began in California and has local participants in major cities all across the country. The concept is simple: A donor (in this case MTSA) contributes funds through World Central Kitchen (WCK), a not-for-profit international relief organization, who in turn, ensures restaurants are paid directly through the organization. Frontline Foods communicates with hospitals and restaurants directly to identify the needs of the community and then coordinates the delivery of meals to hospitals around the city. Colwell said, “the impact in the community is two-fold: Not only are we feeding our amazing nurses and healthcare workers who are working in wartime conditions, but we are supporting our local restaurants who are forced to sustain themselves under extenuating circumstances.”

“MTSA highlights service and community engagement — both as an institution and by encouraging our staff to be involved in local charities,” said Hulin. “This program is really an extension of that and provides an outlet for MTSA to make a difference for fellow nurses and healthcare workers in the clinical environments where our students do clinical assignments each and every day.”

Funds that MTSA will invest in this program come from net proceeds of the Mission & Awards Gala and Golf Classic events. These two donor-supported community events fund MTSA mission initiatives both locally and abroad. “In that there is an international travel ban and the need is so great here in our backyard, MTSA will be contributing $5,000 of its mission funds for the Frontline Foods Nashville program,” said Hulin.

Joining as a collaborator in the local program by providing drinks is Coca-Cola Consolidated who will be giving Powerade and Bodyarmor Superdrinks.

For more information about MTSA’s COVID-19 response go to mtsa.edu/covid.