Imaging giant Radiology Partners has established an employee relief fund for workers hit hardest by the pandemic, and it’s already raised almost $1.8 million.
“RP One,” as the effort is called, is doling out grants to team members who are “experiencing significant financial hardship because of the COVID crisis,” according to a Wednesday announcement. All staffers, including radiologists, are eligible for the assistance, with an eight-member committee overseeing applications.
Radiology Partners made a matching contribution of $1 million for the fund, after its staffers chipped in the initial $100,000.
“RP One allows us to support our teammates who are experiencing financial distress right now as a result of the COVID-19 crisis,” Chairman and CEO Rich Whitney said in a statement. “I am humbled by the response of our physicians, support team members and business partners whose amazing generosity ensures RP One will also be an enduring vehicle to assist our teammates in need long after this virus subsides.”
Staffers have been able to donate to the fund both through cash contributions or their own paid time off. Rad Partners said it hit the initial $100,000 goal in the first 10 days, and the corporation continues to match contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis. As of Wednesday, the El Segundo, California-based company has issued 130 grants totaling nearly $250,000. The RP One Committee currently meets multiple times a week to review requests, verify hardship and determine eligibility. Any funds that remain after the pandemic will be used to support team members during future crises, according to a blog posted last month.
Radiology Partners dubs itself as one of the largest physician-owned and physician-led practices in the U.S., deploying 1,500 radiologists across 24 states. In an April interview, Chief Medical Officer Jay Bronner, MD, said the company has seen sizable declines in imaging volumes during the crisis, including a more than 60% drop on the outpatient side. This has forced some practices to temporarily close facilities and furlough their employees.
“With our outpatient volumes being as impacted as they have been, we have needed to do that in some cases, but we anticipate this being temporary,” Bronner told Radiology Business. “We’ve been working aggressively in facilitating ways to take advantage of the programs the government is offering to help people in this situation,” he added.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.