Britny High sat in her car in the parking lot of IU Health Blackford Hospital, happy tears in her eyes as she felt a weight being lifted from her chest.

She’d just started working in outpatient registration and had yet to receive her first paycheck. Bills were due, but more urgently, her car was almost out of gas.

After learning about the IU Health Team Member Support Fund, High requested a gas card to make sure she could still get to work. What she received instead was enough support to cover other financial needs for her family until payday.

“I didn’t realize how stressed out I was,” High said, “and how much I needed that little boost.”

It takes the entire team to thrive

The Team Member Support Fund was created in 2018 to assist IU Health team members experiencing unexpected financial emergencies. In 2021, contributions to the fund increased 129% percent over pre-pandemic levels. In total, over a thousand team members received timely assistance.

“I’ve never worked at a company that’s like, ‘We’re here for you professionally, but we’re also here to help in your day-to-day life,’” High said.

Alan Henderson, an entrepreneur and IU Health Foundation board member, was one of the donors who contributed to the fund. “My
father was a physician at the Methodist campus for many years,” Henderson said. “I know the good work that’s done at all IU Health hospitals, and that it takes the entire team—doctors, nurses, food service workers—to deliver exceptional care. For people to perform at their best, they can’t be worried about having enough gas in their car to get home.”

Henderson and High recently connected a year after she received her assistance. “If I didn’t have the Team Member Support Fund, I don’t know where I would be right now,” High told him. “I can’t thank you enough for contributing to it.”

Paying it forward

After High and her family were able to get back on their feet, the first thing she did was give to the Team Member Support Fund. “I was helped. Now I can help that next person and make things easier for them,” High said. “That’s what we as a company need to do. We’re here for our patients, we’re here to care for the community, but we’re also here to care for our own employees.”