Healthcare professionals have been recognized for their dedication and sacrifices, particularly during the ongoing pandemic and its variants. Various companies and organizations have established programs to provide appreciation offers, discounts, and free products to nurses, doctors, and hospital staff. These offers span multiple categories, including medical supplies, wellness resources, retail discounts, and entertainment perks. While many of the specific deals listed were time-sensitive, the underlying programs and methods of verification for healthcare workers remain relevant for future offers.
Medical Supplies and Uniforms
Several manufacturers have donated essential medical gear and uniforms to healthcare facilities and individual workers. These initiatives aim to support frontline staff by providing necessary protective equipment and work attire.
- Scrubs and Uniforms: Barco and Maevn have both been involved in donating scrubs to healthcare facilities. Barco committed to donating 10,000 scrubs each month during the duration of the pandemic. Maevn requested that clinics, hospitals, or healthcare facility teams in need contact them at [email protected] with specific requirements.
- Protective Gear: Companies such as Preppi and DHAVNI have donated N95 masks and other protective equipment to healthcare workers in need. Print For the Cure provided face shields, mask straps, and door openers.
- Footwear: FJOLK offered free pairs of shoes to healthcare workers via email at [email protected].
Wellness and Mental Health Support
Recognizing the mental and physical strain on healthcare professionals, several organizations offered free access to wellness apps, coaching, and educational resources.
- Meditation and Breathing Apps: Balance, a personalized meditation app, offered free subscriptions for the year to help users cope during the period. Inner Engineering Online provided free access for healthcare workers to improve physical health and mental stability. The Art of Living offered free evidence-based breathing and meditation techniques. Headspace provided free access for LA County, though this deal has ended.
- Professional Coaching: Coaches4Good provided free 30-minute professional life coaching sessions to healthcare, small business, education, and nonprofit leaders and workers. Francie Perkins Coaching offered free 30-minute life coaching sessions to frontline nurses, radiology techs, and respiratory therapists who emailed a photo of their medical badge.
- Training and Education: Intelycare offered a 100% free COVID-19 Nurse Training Certification for nursing professionals, including one free contact hour upon completion. The American Nurses Association (ANA) offered a free 68-minute webinar titled “Be Confident Protecting Yourself and Providing the Best Care to Your Patients During this COVID-19 Pandemic.” NursingCE.com provided a variety of free CEU courses.
Food and Beverage Offers
Restaurants and food delivery services have offered discounts and free items to healthcare workers, often requiring verification via employee badges or IDs.
- Food Delivery: DoorDash partnered with hospitals in the U.S. and Canada to offer 60 days of free Corporate DashPass to nurses, doctors, and hospital employees. This includes $0 delivery and reduced service fees.
- Restaurant Deals: Dunkin’ Donuts provided free medium hot or iced coffee and a free donut on National Nurses Day. El Pollo Loco gave out free limited edition e-gift cards to nurses via Instagram nominations. Jamba honored essential workers with free smoothies through their “Whirl’d of Good” initiative. Thistle offered 10% off all deliveries to healthcare workers using code HOSPITALHEROES.
- General Offers: El Pollo Loco also offered free e-gift cards to nurses, and Juice It Up! provided deals for dine-in or To Go orders (deal ended May 17).
Retail and Shopping Discounts
A wide variety of retail brands offer exclusive discounts to healthcare workers, typically requiring verification through a third-party service or direct submission of credentials.
Apparel and Footwear
Many footwear and apparel brands offer significant discounts for healthcare professionals.
- Athletic and Casual Shoes: Brooks offers 25% off for nurses and first responders (40% off for sports medicine professionals). New Balance provides 15% off orders up to $400 plus free shipping. On Shoes offers 10% off. Puma offers 20% off. Reebok offers 30% off footwear. Saucony offers 20% off. Skechers offers 20% off. Merrell offers 20% off. Hey Dude Shoes offers 20% off all regular-priced footwear and accessories.
- Specialty and Medical Footwear: Crocs offers 15% off all full-priced styles. Klogs Footwear offers 15% off. Oofos offers 20% off plus free shipping and returns. OrthoFeet offers 10% off. Dearfoams offers 20% off. Frankie4 offers a permanent 15% off discount code.
- General Apparel: Under Armour offers 40% off purchases for healthcare providers. Athletic Propulsion Labs offers discounts for U.S. or Canadian healthcare workers. Atoms offers 10% off for healthcare professionals. Clarks offers discount pricing. Rothy’s offers 20% off.
Furniture and Home Goods
- Lovesac: Offers 40% off furniture for doctors, nurses, first responders, military personnel, and teachers.
- Furnished Quarters: Provides exclusive lodging discounts at select locations for nurses and other healthcare workers.
Other Retail
- Babbel: Offers discounts for healthcare workers.
- Cardio Partners: Offers 10% off for nurses and first responders.
- MDF Instruments: Offers 15% off for medical students.
- Grand & Toy: Canadian Nurses Association members save 10-20% on office supplies, with free shipping on orders over $50.
Entertainment and Travel
Discounts extend to entertainment venues and travel services, allowing healthcare workers access to leisure activities.
- Theme Parks and Attractions: California’s Great America offers up to 48% off. Disneyland Park offers adult tickets at child prices for 3+ day tickets. Dollywood offers up to 10% off. DreamWorks Water Park offers 15% off. Kennedy Space Center offers up to 25% off. Kings Island & Soak City Water Park offer special offers. Discovery Cove Orlando offers up to 40% off.
- Live Entertainment: Broadway Shows offer up to 40% off. Cirque du Soleil offers up to 30% off. Blue Man Group offers up to 35% off.
- Tickets and Arcades: 1st Tix provides free tickets to select events for serving and retired nurses and first responders. Dave & Buster’s offers a $20 arcade card for $15.
- Travel: MSC Cruises offers an extra 10% off fares to Canadian nurses and other healthcare workers. Colonial Williamsburg offers 10% off.
- Shopping Discounts: Perkopolis offers exclusive discounts on shopping, entertainment, travel, and hotels to nurses who register with ARNM.
Specialized Services and Certifications
Several companies provided specialized services or certifications free of charge to healthcare workers.
- Marketing Services: LinkBuildingHQ offered a 15% discount on marketing services for frontline workers using coupon code Covid15-LBUS.
- Healthcare Products: Nursemates offered 15% off purchases including masks.
- CME Credits: Orbit CME offered a $100 credit.
- Pet Products: Furbo Dog Camera offered a free camera, though this deal has ended.
Verification and Eligibility
To access these offers, healthcare workers typically need to verify their status. Methods vary by provider but often include:
- Email Verification: Sending a photo of a medical badge or ID to a specific email address (e.g., Francie Perkins Coaching, Elvie).
- Online Forms: Filling out a form on a company’s website (e.g., Down Dog, Fitcrunch).
- Third-Party Services: Using services like SheerID or ID.me to verify employment during checkout on retail websites.
- Group Registration: Registering with professional organizations like the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) to access perks like Perkopolis.
Conclusion
The collective effort to support healthcare workers has resulted in a diverse array of freebies, discounts, and appreciation offers. While many specific promotions are tied to specific time periods or events like National Nurses Week, the mechanisms for verifying healthcare employment remain in place. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to check directly with brands and utilize professional association memberships to discover current and ongoing discount programs.