During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Eric Dickson, the CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care, and Dr. Cathy Jones, Dicksons’ wife and a UMass Memorial physician, are donating all of their paychecks to the health care system’s employee assistance fund, officials said Friday.

The husband and wife are both emergency physicians. Kathleen Driscoll, who starts Monday as the health care system’s new chief philanthropy officer, announced the donations on Friday.

“As I begin on Monday, Dr. Dickson and his wife, Dr. Cathy Jones, who’s also known to many as Dr. Cathy Jones Dickson, notified me that they are making a mutual donation, very generously donating 100% of their paychecks during the length of this crisis to the UMass Memorial Health Care employee assistance fund, to support our most precious assets, our employees who are on the front lines," Driscoll said.

Jones works at HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital, part of the UMass Memorial system.

“Our employee assistance fund, and that’s where I’m making my donation and where my wife is making her donation, is what we’re supporting because it is those folks that are on the lower end of the pay scale that just don’t have a reserve in place and are going to be most impacted by this,” Dickson said. “Frankly, that’s true for almost every disaster that occurs.”

UMass Memorial Health Care is the largest health care system in Central Massachusetts, as well as the region’s largest employer.

Dickson’s compensation was listed at $1,971,617 in the most recent 990 tax form for UMass Memorial Health Care.

In recent weeks, Dickson has been working in his role as an emergency physician, Driscoll said, helping to care for patients as the number of Massachusetts residents who test positive for COVID-19 rises.

Driscoll said the system has received support from the community in supplies and food and almost a million dollars in financial support.

Dickson on Friday thanked the Worcester community for donations. Those who want to give food can email Communitydonations@umassmemorial.org for information on donating individually wrapped, non-perishable food. To donate medical supplies, email supplychaindonations@umassmemorial.org. And for anyone who wants to give a monetary donation, email give@umassmemorial.org.

As of Thursday, 40 UMass Memorial Health Care employees had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

UMass Memorial has instituted “universal masking," which requires all staff working on a campus or in a facility that provides direct patient care to wear a face mask during the pandemic.

The hospital system has taken other measures in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, including visitor restrictions and drive-up testing for certain patients.

In Massachusetts, 154 residents have died from illness related to COVID-19 and at least 8,966 residents have tested positive for the virus, the state Department of Public Health said Thursday afternoon.

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