Thank you Lyft for the healthcare support during the Kincade fire

It’s been said that sometimes the most challenging of circumstances can bring out the best in people. And while no one would wish for crises, to witness how people rise up to help others during those times is something to marvel.

The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County continues to impact the community. Many of our staff and clinicians who live and work in the area were evacuated this past week. We were able to contact them to ensure they were in safe locations and offer them resources and support. Even in the face of their personal challenges, they continued to ask how they could help patients and keep them safe. The teamwork across our integrated network means we were able to continue filling prescriptions and rescheduling appointments. In a time of uncertainty, we want to be the reliable, dependable constant for our patients, staff and clinicians.

Our collaboration with Lyft has helped our teams make good on that promise.

Although is not always considered, how clinical staff gets to and from work plays an important role in the delivery of health care. Factor in that clinical staff in Sonoma County are dealing with their own personal challenges, it makes the landscape all the more difficult. Lyft has provided codes that our staff may use to help them travel to care for patients or deal with their own personal matters. Lyft stepped up in a similar way during the 2017 Tubbs Fire in the North Bay, at a time when our collaboration was still new. It took a lot of brainstorming and creativity, but we were able to develop a solution, which laid the groundwork for this week’s quick response.

This is a great demonstration of what we can achieve when we collaborate. Swift action by Lyft can make our teams feel less vulnerable and overwhelmed, and ultimately give them the ability to serve their community in a time of need.