This project aims to document the life of every US medical worker who dies from Covid-19 after helping patients during the outbreak. If you have a colleague or loved one we should include, please contact us here .

Lost on the frontline is a project by the Guardian and Kaiser Health News that aims to honor every healthcare worker in the US – from doctors to hospital cleaners and from nursing home aides to paramedics – who dies from Covid-19 during the pandemic.

These are the frontline health workers who risk their own lives to care for the sick. In some states, medical staff account for as many as 20% of known coronavirus cases. But no reliable national database exists to track their deaths. As of 10 July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 510 deaths among health workers – but our reporting shows that is likely an undercount.

Some of these deaths are preventable. Across the world, healthcare workers face a disproportionate risk of severe infection from coronavirus due to their high exposure to sick patients. But in the US, a lack of preparedness for the pandemic increased that risk. Inadequate access to testing among the general population, a nationwide shortage of protective gear such as N95 masks, and lack of basic supplies like hand sanitizer are driving up the death toll among health workers.

Collectively, our healthcare workforce has already saved thousands of lives. And in the face of a pandemic so dangerous that families can’t visit sick relatives, these workers are often the last people to comfort the dying. But some won’t make it themselves. While we can’t profile everyone in depth, our goal is to mark every death that we can confirm. The nationwide database we create will allow us to identify patterns and find new stories about the unfolding pandemic and its impact on healthcare workers, shedding light on the workings, and failings, of the healthcare system.

Our count will include any healthcare worker who was likely exposed while helping patients with Covid-19 during the pandemic. That includes nurses, paramedics, doctors and other medical workers who treat patients, operate ambulances and take X-rays. It includes nursing home staff and home health aides who are caring for patients outside of hospitals. It includes cleaners, porters, administrators and other on-site staff who are disinfecting hospital rooms, washing linens and managing crucial operations to help our healthcare system function in crisis.

We hope this project will become a collective memorial to honor their sacrifices. But we can’t do it alone. We’re asking the family members, friends and colleagues of healthcare workers to contribute by sharing information, photos and stories about their loved ones and co-workers who died while taking care of patients infected with coronavirus. You can share information here.

We’re also inviting news organizations across the country to partner with us. We will link to local newsroom stories about workers in their communities who have died, and we will invite them to co-publish our stories. We will also work with partners to produce content in multiple languages to reflect the rich diversity of America’s healthcare workforce and reach the many communities in America experiencing loss.

Because of the scope of the project, and the many categories of workers we’ve chosen to include, this database may never be completely comprehensive. It will function as an imperfect work in progress – and grow over time.

You can reach the editors of this project at frontline@theguardian.com.

We hope this project will honor those lost to the pandemic – and spark ideas for positive change in our healthcare system.