ST. PAUL, Minn. - Healthcare workers have often been called heroes during the pandemic, but their advocates say the sentiment can be quickly forgotten by the public - including in some cases, their deaths. A Minnesota organization is honoring their sacrifice by helping their families.

With the help of infectious-disease expert and Professor Michael Osterholm, the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation recently launched the Frontline Families Fund.

It provides emergency grants and scholarships to families of healthcare workers who have died from COVID-19. Jeremy Wells, senior vice-president of philanthropic services with the foundation, said the fund is designed for situations in which the person didn't leave behind a lot of wealth.

"Let's say they were a nursing aide or something that's not a highly paid profession," said Wells, "versus a physician that passed, you know, who had a $5 or $10 million life-insurance policy."

There are two phases for the grants: One provides $15,000 for funeral costs. The second round funds up to $60,000 for long-term expenses.

They're administered by the separate Brave of Heart Fund, which was established with the same mission.

Publications including Kaiser Health News estimate that more than 3,000 U.S. healthcare workers have died from COVID.

Osterholm said despite positive news of declining cases in Minnesota and elsewhere, he predicts the pace of vaccinations won't keep up with the spread of new COVID variants, which creates new daily threats for healthcare workers.

"I think the challenge we have today is just, you know, letting healthcare workers know that if they're coming to work putting their life on the line," said Osterholm, "that we are going to do what we can to take care of their families if something happens to them."

Osterholm - the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research at the University of Minnesota - added that the U.S. healthcare system needs to be mindful of the long-term effects for workers still on the frontlines.

He said the care they've provided has taken a toll, including on their mental health.

"Many of them have been really challenged with the long hours," said Osterholm, "the number of deaths that they've had to deal with, the serious illnesses."

The foundation says a key component of its effort is to elevate discussion and resources for healthcare workers and families in the racial groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Crisis Pregnancy Centers are drawing more scrutiny.

In June, California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned the centers advertise reproductive health care services, but their true mission is to dissuade people from seeking an abortion.

Stephanie Peng, senior manager of movement research for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, said the centers sometimes make false claims about the risks of the procedure.

"There are really intentional practices to lure people who are seeking abortion information," Peng contended. "And then really mislead them away from having an abortion without giving them a choice to even think about it."

Supporters of Crisis Pregnancy Centers say they help pregnant people by offering free services such as diapers and breastfeeding classes. State data show 179 such centers operate in California.

A recent report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy looked at Internal Revenue Service records and found the centers and their tax-affiliated organizations took in $4 billion from 2015 to 2019.

Peng pointed out the centers often have ties to much larger organizations, many affiliated with the right-to-life movement.

"There's this common misconception that CPCs are just really small, individual-run organizations that are all volunteer-based; they might be operating out of a church," Peng noted. "But what we found is that $4 billion is a substantial amount of revenue that they are getting. "

The report recommended charitable donors and foundations check to see if the organizations they support are funneling money to the centers.

Fourteen states moved to ban or severely restrict abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this summer. Peng added donors concerned about the right to choose may want to contribute to groups helping low-income women who may have to travel out of state for the procedure.

"The philanthropy and foundation sector really needs to support the local and state-based abortion funds," Peng urged. "Who are really providing the financial and practical assistance to individuals who are seeking abortion care."

The New Hampshire Department of Education is collecting new backpacks for students whose families may need some help this year getting those back-to-school essentials.

It is the seventh year the Department has run a school backpack drive.

Diana Fenton, chief of the New Hampshire Department of Education Office of Governance, who oversees the program, said in the current economic climate, some families are likely to need assistance who have not in the past.

She noted backpacks collected are sent to school nurses, who then distribute them to students in need.

"We didn't want anyone to have to stand in line or justify need or fill out a form or be made to feel bad about their circumstances," Fenton explained. "If you need a new backpack, if you need a little extra help this year, contact the Department of Education, or contact your school nurse."

According to the latest Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, more than 35% of Granite Staters reported having trouble paying for usual household expenses, up from just over a quarter at the beginning of the year.

Fenton pointed out school nurses have a unique knowledge of what their student body is facing.

"Some of the school nurses, they will keep them throughout the year because kids wear through them," Fenton observed. "They will kind of reinitiate handing out backpacks in January when kids come back to school after the holidays."

The drive will run through August 12, and it is not the only opportunity to help New Hampshire kids with back-to-school supplies.

The Boys and Girls Club of Central New Hampshire, for instance, is partnering with other groups for a Pack a Pack campaign, where donors are encouraged to give a backpack containing school supplies such as pencils, colored pencils, erasers, sharpeners, student scissors, glue sticks, notebooks, rulers, pens and folders.

Iowa is getting more than $9 million to improve its system of care for stroke patients, and to address staffing issues among public-health workers in rural areas.

The money is being donated by the Helmsley Charitable Trust, with $6 million of it going to the American Heart Association's (AHA's) "Mission: Lifeline Stroke" initiative across the state.

Michelle Scharnott, national vice president for business development and strategic initiatives for the American Heart Association, said the program strives to bring more coordination and efficiency to hospitals, first responders, rehabilitation centers and others when delivering this kind of care.

"It's figuring out that destination decision and who has what capabilities within the state," Scharnott outlined. "And assessing that patient immediately to make sure the best decision is made."

The association, which is also contributing funds, noted stroke is among the leading causes of death in Iowa, with more than 1,400 such cases in 2020.

Helmsley is also granting $3 million in Iowa and two other states for AHA to launch its "HeartCorps" program. It involves adding public-health workers in rural settings, especially in counties ranking among the least healthy.

Officials explained the workers can focus on helping people improve their cardiovascular health. As for streamlining stroke care.

Walter Panzirer, trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said it helps to ensure patients return to their lives and their communities.

"In small towns, if the owner of a lumber mill, for example, or any small-town business, has a life-threatening stroke, that business might not be around anymore," Panzirer emphasized.

Previously, the philanthropic organization donated nearly $5 million for a similar AHA program in Iowa to address heart-attack care. And it recently provided funding for large trucks to travel to smaller Iowa communities, allowing rural health providers more access to training and equipment for general health care needs.