Hospitals Are Opening On-Site Food Markets for Health Care Workers

The ordinary act of grocery shopping has been complicated by the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to worrying about exposing themselves to the novel coronavirus, shoppers also have to deal with long lines and limited supply. But as KXAN reports, one hospital chain is making this errand easier for an especially deserving group of people.

The Seton Healthcare Family, which operates hospitals across the country, has opened pop-up shops for health care workers in its hospital cafeterias. The mini-markets sell the same staples found in many major stores like eggs, milk, pasta, produce, and other essentials that are all available to hospital employees. They also carry items that are currently harder to find like toilet paper.

The point of the project is to keep health care workers out of busy supermarkets, so they can spend more time at home. After a successful debut at Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the network is rolling out pop-up stores in hospital cafeterias in 20 states. The markets have been so well-received that the chain is considering keeping them even after the current crisis.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has inspired creative efforts to make life easier for health care professionals. In March, Crocs pledged to donate 100,000 pairs of shoes to medical workers on the front-lines of the crisis.