- Grants focus on health education and
outreach programs to help people get access to care and improve
their health
- Grants announced at Bowdoin Street
Health Center “Open House”
UnitedHealthcare donated $130,000 to 24 community health
organizations to support access to primary care and other support
services for Massachusetts residents.
Left to right: Sister Michelle Moor of
St. Patrick's Manor, Mary Long of Kit Clark Senior Center, Anne
Eagen of St. Patrick's Manor, Brianna Nedelberg of REACH Beyond
Domestic Violence, Lynne McCann of South End Community Health
Center, Adela Margules of Bowdoin Street Health Center, Maria
Pizzimenti of REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, Francisca Guevara of
Joseph M. Smith Health Center, Bill Graves of St. Camillus Health
Center, and Bernadette Di Re and Greg Stupin of UnitedHealthcare.
UnitedHealthcare recognized local Community Grants Program
recipients at a lunch at Bowdoin Street Health Center, one of the
grant recipient organizations. The company donated $130,000 to 24
community health organizations to support access to primary care
and other support services for Massachusetts residents (Photo: Matt
Healey).
Of the 24 grants awarded, 10 went to community health centers,
five to skilled nursing facilities and five to community-based
health and provider organizations for their health initiatives.
Four grants were given to aging service access points (ASAPs),
which provide services including information and referrals,
interdisciplinary case management, reassessment of needs, and
protective services of abuse and neglect of elders.
Bernadette Di Re, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of
Massachusetts, announced $10,000 grants to two of the 24
organizations during a special check-presentation ceremony at
Bowdoin Street Health Center of Dorchester:
- Bowdoin Street Health Center,
for its “Wellness Center Programming,” which promotes healthy
eating, healthy cooking and increased exercise for health center
patients. The Wellness Center supports the Fitness in the City
program for children who are at risk of obesity; the Healthy Food
Access Program, which includes a farmer’s market; the Healthy
Corner Store that brings fresh fruits and vegetables to local
markets; and the Healthy Champions program where youth create and
manage a community garden and sell their produce at the farmer’s
market to educate people about healthier eating habits.
- Greater Lawrence Family Health
Center, for its “Healthcare for the Homeless” program that
provides preventive and primary care services to its transient
patients in Merrimack Valley, and helps secure local resources for
food, emergency shelter, permanent housing and job training.
During the check-presentation ceremony, guests received a tour
of the health center to see first-hand its impact in the local
community. Additional grant recipient representatives in attendance
included Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (Cambodian Fire
Fund), Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center, Kit Clark Senior
Center, REACH Beyond Domestic Violence (Elder Abuse Advocacy), St.
Camillus Health Center, St. Patrick’s Manor, South End Community
Health Center and Springwell.
According to the 2014 America’s Health Rankings®, Massachusetts
ranked third in overall health. However, the state ranked 19th in
“low birth weight” and 36th in “preventable hospitalizations.”
Massachusetts’ lowest ranking was “disparity in health status”
(42nd). Community health organizations, like the ones awarded the
UnitedHealthcare grants, can help improve low-ranking measures.
“All of our grant recipients are leaders in their communities,
providing a heath care ‘safety net’ for some of the commonwealth’s
most vulnerable residents,” said Di Re. “These organizations help
address the cultural, socioeconomic and financial concerns to
enable people to get access to care and other social services that
help them live happier and healthier lives.”
Other organizations receiving grants include: Bethany Health
Center, Framingham; Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association
(Cambodian Fire Fund), Lowell; Edward M. Kennedy Community Health
Center, Worcester; Covenant Health System – Elizabeth Seton
Residence and Marrilac Residency, Wellesley; Family Health Center
Of Worcester; Greater Lynn Senior Services; Greater New Bedford
Community Health Center; Holy Trinity Health Care, Worcester;
Holyoke Health Center Inc.; Immigrant Assistance Center, New
Bedford; Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center, Allston; Kit
Clark Senior Center, Dorchester; Lowell Community Health Center;
Mattapan Community Health Center; Minuteman Senior Services,
Bedford; Peabody Residential Services Corporation; REACH Beyond
Domestic Violence (Elder Abuse Advocacy), South End Community
Health Center, Boston; Springwell, Waltham; St. Camillus Health
Center, Whitinsville; St. Patrick's Manor, Framingham; and West
Mass Elder Care, Holyoke.
In the United States, one in 15 people, or about 22 million
patients, rely on community health centers as their health care
home, according to the National Association of Community Health
Centers (NACHC). Medical professionals at community health centers
are often trained to recognize and understand the unique language,
cultural and economic barriers that often discourage people from
seeking care.
“On behalf of the health centers across the Commonwealth, we
applaud UnitedHealthcare for recognizing the important role that
Bowdoin Street and other grant recipients play in helping make our
communities healthier, and supporting our care initiatives that
lead to better health and reduced health care costs,” said Adela
Margules, executive director, Bowdoin Street Health Center.
By keeping the community healthier, community health centers
help reduce the health care system’s overall costs. NACHC research
shows that patients who use community health centers are less
likely to use hospital emergency rooms for routine care or to treat
preventable medical conditions. The NACHC estimates that health
centers save an average of $1,263 per person per year, which
translates to a total cost savings of $24 billion per year for the
health system as a whole.
UnitedHealthcare’s Community Grants Program helps
community-based organizations get the funds they need to continue
their important work, and offers free expert guidance to help the
organizations make their funding efforts more effective. For more
information, visit www.uhccommunitygrants.com.
UnitedHealthcare serves more than 390,000 people in
Massachusetts with a care provider network of 101 hospitals and
more than 26,000 care providers statewide.
About
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping
people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health
care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and
sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company
offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for
individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and
their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and
contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care
professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities
nationwide. Globally, UnitedHealthcare serves 45 million people in
health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being
company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at
www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
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Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150326006444/en/
UnitedHealthcareMaria Gordon Shydlo,
914-933-4613maria_g_shydlo@uhc.com
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