March 21, 2020

How to Support Healthcare Workers Now (Plus Urgent Suggestions for Uber Eats, Hilton, Amazon, and More) | The Tim Ferriss Show

Check out The Tim Ferriss Show Episode Page & Show Notes

Support healthcare workers. They need our help now more than ever. Give them thanks. Buy them food. Do what you can. A little goes a long way.

Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) has been in quarantine with his girlfriend & dog for the past 4 weeks
“I expect next week [Tim recorded this episode on Friday, March 20th] to be an exceptionally difficult week for many people and many cities—NYC chief among them” – Tim Ferriss

If you’re healthy and listening to this podcast (or reading these notes) you likely owe something to a healthcare worker
But the sad fact is: although healthcare workers are incredibly important, we ignore until we need them
If the United States wants to defeat COVID-19, we MUST protect the healthcare workers on the front line
Doctors, nurses, x-ray techs, physician assistants, cleaning staff—they’re all making incredible sacrifices right now

Why? So they can rest (instead of commute) and not be forced to go home and infect their families
Companies doing good work (Tim requests readers/listeners reach out and thank them/encourage them to do more):
- Airbnb has been experimenting in Italy with offering temporary housing (hopefully they continue this in the U.S.)
- Hilton Hotels is planning on doing similar

Sweetgreen is delivering free meals to healthcare workers
Uber Eats has committed to provide 300k+ meals to healthcare workers and first responders, BUT it’s not clear how healthcare workers can take advantage of the offer
- “So, Uber Eats, please make it clearer, on your Twitter account and elsewhere, how people can take advantage of this” – Tim Ferriss

Amazon can (and should) create gift cards restricted to protective equipment
- One could then purchase a gift card and give it to their local hospital/emergency room

Tim plans to create a separate email list composed of people interested in organizing different types of help
- Go here and add your email for updates
Paul Graham just donated to $1 MM to flexport.org—a donation large enough to pay for almost all of the protective gear required by San Francisco’s front line healthcare workers
- If your city is short on personal protective equipment, reach out to Ryan Peterson, the CEO of Flexport

Many United States cities are likely to face ventilator shortages, just like Italy
- While the U.S. is busy manufacturing ventilators, healthcare workers must be aware of the technique one can use for modifying a ventilator, enabling a single device to work on 2 (or 4) people—check out Tim’s blog post for more info

“We’re going to get through this … Right now, if you’re able, it’s the time to be a generous lifeguard, not a selfish drowning person” – Tim Ferriss
If you’re having trouble paying for food or bills, head to findhelp.org
EVERY small act goes a long way. Healthcare workers are being maxed out. Even a “thank you” can be incredibly meaningful.
We NEED our healthcare workers rested, adequately fed, and able to continue fighting. We ALL depend on them.