The Dalton family has committed $150,000 to the UC Health Crisis Response Fund to help support UC Health’s efforts to care for our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This generous gift brings the total raised for the Crisis Response Fund to nearly $300,000 from almost 400 gifts.

Andy, a quarterback drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011, and his wife JJ, reached out to see how they could support the health care community and directly impact patients as well as the immediate needs of Cincinnatians on the frontlines.  

“For the last nine years, Cincinnati has been our home, and we’ve seen what UC Health means to our friends and neighbors and our region. We’re honored to support our health care heroes in this fight,” said Dalton.

“On behalf of UC Health, I am grateful to Andy and JJ Dalton for their generous support of our medical professionals working on the front lines every day to care for our community during this unprecedented time,” said Richard P. Lofgren, MD, president and CEO of UC Health. “Andy and JJ’s continued commitment to Greater Cincinnati lets these health care heroes know that the community is behind them.” 

The UC Health Crisis Response Fund helps provide for the immediate needs of the health system as clinicians work to understand, treat and prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as planning and preparing for the ever-changing situation. Funds support the purchases of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers, as well as lab supplies to expand testing and other emerging areas of response. 

Watch Andy Dalton's video message to UC Health caregivers below.

This month, an anonymous donor funded the purchase of two pieces of equipment for the UC Health Precision Medicine Laboratory, which are being put to immediate use in accelerating in-house testing for coronavirus.

On Thursday, April 8, Dani Zander, MD, chief of pathology and laboratory medicine for UC Health, shared an update on the impact of the gift:

“The first machine arrived on April 3. The machine was validated, and then we began in-house testing on April 4. This allowed us to immediately begin processing tests conducted on patients and healthcare workers, including specimens for which we needed urgent, rapid test results,” she said.

“The rapid return of test results was vital for critically-ill patients who had been intubated, for patients awaiting results prior to surgery, and for transplant patients. Results were needed quickly in order to avoid exposing to COVID-19 the many healthcare workers caring for these patients, and for those patients for whom it is vitally important to avoid infection. We are grateful to the donor who made this expansion of our in-house testing capabilities possible.”

Read more about the gift here.

Monday is National #DoctorsDay, but we’re casting a wider net and wish to thank all UC Health staff and clinicians for keeping our community safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As they continue to work long hours, bravely facing the unknown, we want to express our gratitude for the selfless work they are doing, serving on the front lines for our city. 

Join us in sharing a message of gratitute on social media using the hashtags #DoctorsDay and #StrengthInUnity.