Helping to keep our communities healthy

The novel coronavirus has created unprecedented difficulties for communities everywhere. At Uber Health, we’re particularly sensitive to the immense challenges facing caregivers, patients, and those in need during this time. Even routine tasks, such as arranging transportation, or finding a healthy meal, have become complicated undertakings for those most impacted by COVID-19. 

Healthcare professionals, social workers, and volunteers are vital on the front lines. We want to help them flatten the curve, and we’re not stopping short of doing our part. To start, Uber committed to providing 10 million rides and meal deliveries to healthcare workers, seniors, and people in need, free of charge.

As part of this commitment, we’re partnering with the CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance, formed by biopharmaceutical companies Takeda, CSL Behring, Biotest, BPL, LFB, and Octapharma, to contribute 25,000 free, roundtrip rides to and from plasma collection centers for those who are potentially eligible to donate. Uber Health is proud to support this initiative and the broader search for the development of a potential COVID-19 therapy.

No one can predict the impact of COVID-19 in the coming months. We’ll be working hard through it all to ensure that health and social care organizations can rely on our platform to find transportation and meals for their team and those most in need.

Both ends of the healthcare spectrum, from those in need of care to those providing it, start the journey to healthier living with access to transportation. The Uber Health dashboard makes it simple for healthcare providers to coordinate and subsidize non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) rides for staff, health plan members, or others in need. 

With TruTriage, we’re improving access to NEMT for eligible 911 callers. Organizations that deploy TruTriage solutions for 911 nurse triage can provide rides with Uber Health for callers who require non-emergency transport to alternative healthcare destinations. 

Rides to and from appointments are especially helpful in areas with limited public and traditional transportation. To keep things simple, riders aren’t required to have a smartphone. See how we’ve reimagined rider and product experience.

Uber Health also recognizes that a person’s health encompasses much more than doctor’s visits and medications. It includes access to food and exercise, education and financial stability, and – especially during times like these – socialization and community engagement. So, we joined forces with Humana to support a coalition to end social isolation and loneliness that affects primarily the elderly community.

Please get in touch with our team if you want to coordinate and/or subsidize (in full or in part) rides for individuals across the spectrum of care. This includes everyone from hospital employees to other health and social care professionals, and from health plan members to other vulnerable populations in need.

With many restaurants closed due to COVID-19, it can be hard for your team to find meals during the workday. We know that food can also be a powerful morale builder for employees and volunteers working long hours. With meal delivery programs, you can show your employees that you care about their well-being and appreciate their continued efforts. 

To show gratitude for their medical staff members who are working tirelessly to care for COVID-19 patients, Boston Medical Center teamed up with Uber Health to give its employees free meals and rides on Mother’s Day. 

If you have a team you’d like to feed, Uber for Business offers a dashboard where you can easily manage meal policies to support your team. Offer your people a wide variety of options—from individual lunches to late-night meals—from an ever-growing list of local restaurants. 

We understand that COVID-19 is affecting every level of our society, and Uber is ready to help. Organizations are welcome to submit requests for free rides and deliveries from Uber.   

Visit our coronavirus resource webpage and check back here for more details in the near term. You can also contact the Uber Health team with your questions anytime.