GROCERY 2 GO Program Helps Healthcare Frontline Teams

April 15, 2020 – To help the doctors, nurses and other critical medical care teams during the coronavirus crisis, Health First hospitals have begun offering a grocery service to go for these essential workers.

“I’m thankful the grocery service is available to us,” said Vanessa Tucci, a Clinical Charge Nurse in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center. “Some items, such as the toilet paper and paper towels, are extremely hard to find, so that was a life saver.”

Health First teamed up with Sodexo, the vendor behind Health First’s cafeterias, to offer a “Grocery 2 Go” program. Associates at Health First’s four hospitals – Health First’s Cape Canaveral, Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center, Health First’s Palm Bay Hospital and Health First’s Viera Hospital – can preorder basic groceries to pick up right at their hospital’s cafeteria.

“I was able to share the information about the grocery service with the staff in my unit,” she said. “We were thankful to be able to have items available to us at the cafeteria. It is convenient and saves a trip to the store, which helps limit exposure.”

This service is helping to reduce additional stress in the lives of some of those essential people continuing to care for our community. The Grocery 2 Go service provides many basic products, including bottled water, toilet paper, paper towels, milk, butter, cheese, bread, fruits, vegetables, pasta, peanut butter and frozen pizza. But there are some limits. Toilet paper is limited to two rolls per order and paper towels limited to one.

Pickup is available daily in hospital cafeterias from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. All items are preordered and subject to availability.