The Siemens Foundation today announced it is providing $1.5 million to community health centers across 12 U.S. cities to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Community health centers are the nation’s largest primary care provider for the medically underserved and uninsured, reaching 29 million of those most in-need. As a result of COVID-19, these health centers face a shortage of funding to stay operational and maintain a sufficient workforce, further crippling their ability to provide affordable healthcare at a critical time. Aligning with its dedication to social equity, the non-profit organization established by Siemens USA, including funding provided by Siemens Healthineers, is committed to supporting these critical healthcare providers so they can continue serving their communities when they are needed most.
“As the COVID-19 crisis disproportionately threatens lower-income and medically underserved communities, it’s vital for us to support the institutions that sustain our social compact,” said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “Community health centers and their staff are on the front lines providing primary care every day and they now play an especially vital role in our medical services infrastructure when emergency services and hospital settings are overwhelmed. Vital services like these are paramount to advancing equity in America.”
The following health centers were selected using equity criteria developed by the Siemens Foundation in consultation with the National Association of Community Health Centers, the Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers, and Siemens:
• Chase Brexton Health Services in Baltimore
• Chicago Family Health Center in Chicago
• Western Wayne Family Health Centers in Metro Detroit
• Daughters of Charity Services/Marillac Community Health Center in New Orleans
• Delaware Valley Community Health, Inc., in Philadelphia
• Stride Community Health Center in Denver
• Newark Community Health Centers, Inc., in Newark
• WATTS Healthcare Corporation in Los Angeles
• Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Health Care in Washington, D.C.
• Morris Heights Health Center, Inc., in New York
• Community Health Centers in Orlando
• International Community Health Services in Seattle
The $1.5 million commitment is funded, in part, by The Siemens Healthineers Fund of the Siemens Foundation, supported by Siemens Healthineers business in the United States. The centers will receive the investments over the next few weeks and will be free to use the funding however they deem it is most needed.
“It is a critical time to ensure all patients and families are able to access the care they need,” said Dave Pacitti, Siemens Foundation Board of Directors member; President of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.; and Head of the Americas for Siemens Healthineers. “The nation’s community health centers are a vital safety net for millions of patients, and these investments will help them to continue providing affordable care that strengthens the entire U.S. healthcare system in combatting the pandemic.”
The Foundation’s efforts complement Siemens’ and Siemens Healthineers’ collective efforts to combat COVID-19 by supporting critical infrastructure and by helping state and local governments address urgent healthcare needs. The company’s employees are maintaining essential operations to support hospitals, power plants, government facilities, military sites, manufacturing locations and data centers. They’re also supporting critical city services such as transportation, water and waste, and national security emergency response systems.
“We are all ask asking ourselves a simple question: What can we do?” said Barbara Humpton, Siemens Foundation Chair and CEO of Siemens USA. “Our company has been focused on ensuring that no American, or any community, is disconnected from essential services, and right now, no service is more essential than healthcare. The Siemens Foundation’s efforts will support quality care that everyone in America deserves and that our country needs in order to overcome this crisis.”
Siemens is also a part of collaborative on-the-ground effort to support the expansion of existing and new hospital spaces, ensuring these facilities have reliable power, fire and life safety systems, and the tools they need to treat patients. Siemens Healthineers is committed to providing a range of solutions necessary for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with COVID-19 – from a test kit used to aid in the diagnosis of COVID-19 disease to portable X-ray, ultrasound, and blood gas systems used in monitoring for patients, as well as unique cloud-based platforms and remote monitoring systems to assist front-line healthcare providers.
For more information on how Siemens is taking action to support American healthcare, visit its COVID-19 response page.
For more information on the Siemens Foundation, follow @SFoundation on Twitter or visit siemens-foundation.org.
Contact for journalists
Caroline Cassidy
Phone: (770) 826-7379; E-mail: caroline.cassidy@siemens.com
About the Siemens Foundation
The Siemens Foundation has invested more than $122 million in the United States to advance workforce development and education initiatives in science, technology, engineering and math. Our mission is inspired by the culture of innovation, research and continuous learning that is the hallmark of Siemens’ companies. Together, the programs at the Siemens Foundation are narrowing the opportunity gap for young people in the U.S. in STEM careers and igniting and sustaining today’s STEM workforce and tomorrow’s scientists and engineers.
About Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers AG (listed in Frankfurt, Germany: SHL) is shaping the future of Healthcare. As a leading medical technology company headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, Siemens Healthineers enables healthcare providers worldwide through its regional companies to increase value by empowering them on their journey towards expanding precision medicine, transforming care delivery, improving the patient experience, and digitalizing healthcare. Siemens Healthineers is continuously developing its product and service portfolio, with AI-supported applications and digital offerings that play an increasingly important role in the next generation of medical technology. These new applications will enhance the company’s foundation in in-vitro diagnostic, image-guided therapy, and in-vivo diagnostics. Siemens Healthineers also provides a range of services and solutions to enhance healthcare providers’ ability to provide high-quality, efficient care to patients. In fiscal 2019, which ended on September 30, 2019, Siemens Healthineers, which has approximately 52,000 employees worldwide, generated revenue of €14.5 billion and adjusted profit of €2.5 billion.
Further information is available at www.siemens-healthineers.com.
About Siemens USA
Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, and automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Through the separately managed companies Siemens Energy, the global energy business of Siemens, and Siemens Mobility, a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is shaping the energy systems of today and tomorrow as well as the world market for passenger and freight services. Due to its majority stakes in the publicly listed companies Siemens Healthineers AG and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (as part of Siemens Energy), Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital healthcare services as well as environmentally friendly solutions for onshore and offshore wind power generation. For more than 160 years, the company has innovated and invented technologies to support American industry spanning manufacturing, energy, healthcare and infrastructure. In fiscal 2019, Siemens USA reported revenue of $26.5 billion and employs approximately 50,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
