Third-year medical students from the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Scranton, Pa., spearheaded a program to deliver hot meals this week to third-shift caregivers at Geisinger Community Medical Center.

Partnering with Scranton Tomorrow, a non-profit economic development organization in downtown Scranton, the students helped to organize a Meals for Medics week, which saw the purchase and delivery of more than 300 individually wrapped hot meals from local restaurants for hospital staff Thursday evening.

“Most of the people who work third shift sleep during the day and their meal choices are often limited because many restaurants are not open late,” said medical student Alyssa Muchinsky, who has worked third shift in a hospital and has seen these challenges firsthand. “They also have the responsibilities of taking care of their families and it’s easy for them to forget to take care of themselves and pack food for the late night.”

Meals were purchased from The Black Box Café, Fit AF and Mansour’s Market Café and were individually wrapped. Communal or buffet-style meals, such as pizza, make it difficult to minimize contact and social distancing protocols. Meals were distributed to healthcare professionals who are caring for patients on all floors of the hospital. The program will continue as funds are available and the students hope to provide meals to additional hospitals in the future.

For more information on Meals for Medics, or to make a contribution, visit www.scrantontomorrow.org.

If you would like to make a donation to Geisinger, please visit Geisinger.org/fightcovid or call 800-739-6882.

About Geisinger

Geisinger is committed to making better health easier for the more than 1.5 million consumers it serves. Founded more than 100 years ago by Abigail Geisinger, the system now includes 13 hospital campuses, a 600,000-member health plan, two research centers and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. With 32,000 employees and 1,800 employed physicians, Geisinger boosts its hometown economies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey by billions of dollars annually. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.