CVS Health Foundation Awards $1.5 Million in Community Health Grants to Increase Access to Quality Care and Support Chronic Disease Management

WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of a multi-year, $5 million commitment to increase access to health care in communities nationwide, the CVS Health Foundation today released new data from programs supported through partnerships with the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC) and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). The Foundation also announced $1.5 million in new grants distributed to 46 community health centers and free clinics for 2016.

"As a pharmacy innovation company, we are committed to helping people on their path to better health by increasing access to care and supporting innovative approaches to chronic disease management through our Health in Action grants," said Eileen Howard Boone, president of the CVS Health Foundation. "Our partnerships with NAFC and NACHC are focused on addressing the critical need for more accessible, coordinated health care in communities across the country and we're proud to support programs that are improving outcomes and lowering overall health care costs."

In April 2015, the CVS Health Foundation announced a total of 55 grant recipients that have since made meaningful progress toward their goals of improving care coordination, managing chronic conditions and increasing access to care. Critical results from the Foundation funding include:

• The Free Clinic of Central Virginia (Lynchburg, VA) reduced their average patient waiting time between receiving a referral and comprehensive services from 30 days to 10 days. The Clinic was also able to reduce the number of hospitalizations for COPD by 51 percent, surpassing their original goal of 33 percent.
• St. Mary's Health Wagon (Wise, VA) saw a blood pressure reduction in 66 percent of their patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus, which surpassed their initial goal of 50 percent.
• Community Care Clinic of Rowan County (Salisbury, NC) saw 86 percent of participants in their smoking cessation program completely quit smoking which far surpasses the original goal of 15 percent.
• Fifty one percent of the participants in the Corpus Christi (TX) Metro Ministries' smoking cessation program have reduced tobacco use.
• As a result of the Cornerstone Assistance Network's (Fort Worth, TX) program that raises awareness about how to prevent Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy through diabetes management, 32 percent of program patients showed a 10 percent or more decrease of hemoglobin A1C, a measure of blood glucose levels, surpassing their 20 percent goal.

New 2016 Grants
As a continuation of these critical community health partnerships, the CVS Health Foundation today announced a total of $1.5 million in new grants in support of chronic disease management and prevention, such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and asthma, improved care coordination and increased access to care to the following NACHC and NAFC recipient organizations across the country.

Arizona - $35,000 

Phoenix Allies for Community Health (Phoenix, AZ), in support of its quality care coordination project.

California - $310,000

Eisner Pediatric & Family Medical Center (Los Angeles, CA), in support of a diabetes care management initiative that will improve outcomes for patients.

La Clinica de La Raza, Inc. (Oakland, CA), in support of a health coaching initiative for chronic disease management.

LifeLong Medical Care (Berkeley, CA), in support of implementing an organization-wide approach to panel management for adult patients with heart failure.

Salud Para la Gente (Watsonville, CA), in support of health education and case management for diabetes patients.

St. John's Well Child and Family Center (Los Angeles, CA), in support of integrating a home visitation and case management model into the primary care setting for pediatric asthma patients.

SLO Noor Foundation (San Luis Obispo, CA), in support of expanding clinic services to one extra day per week.

San Francisco Free Clinic (San Francisco, CA), in support of added medical personnel to staff a full service evening clinic.

Connecticut - $50,000

Cornell Scott-Hill Health Corporation (New Haven, CT), in support of a staff education program and additional medical equipment.

Florida - $70,000

Grace Medical Home (Orlando, FL), in support of hiring a part-time nurse practitioner who will help manage its care coordination referral program.

Miami Rescue Mission Clinic, Inc. (Miami, FL), in support of a new program that will treat patients through a personalized care approach.

Georgia - $35,000

Good News Clinics (Gainesville, GA), in support of enhanced access to services for patients who previously did not have the resources to receive the care necessary.

Illinois- $60,000

Tri City Health Partnership (St. Charles, IL), in support of a coordinated chronic care initiative that will include medical treatment, medications and supplies, comprehensive health education, monitoring and documented health outcomes.

Community Health Care Clinic (Normal, IL), in support of the Mobile Health Project that will be accessible to medically under-served people.  

Indiana - $20,000

Franciscan Alliance Foundation (Hammond, IN), in support of a diabetes prevention program that will select pre-diabetes patients to work with a trained lifestyle coach.

Louisiana - $35,000

Martin Luther King Health Center & Pharmacy (Shreveport, LA), in support of a program that will decrease diabetes and cardiovascular disease in vulnerable populations.

Massachusetts- $50,000

Charles River Community Health (Allston, MA), in support of an expanded complex care management program to support high-risk patients managing hypertension.

Michigan - $85,000

Health Intervention Services (Grand Rapids, MI), in support of the creation of a new system that measures outcomes for the services it provides.

Thunder Bay Community Health Service, Inc. (Hillman, MI), in support of an asthma care management program.

Minnesota - $35,000

CARE Clinic (Red Wing, MN), in support of the uninsured and low-income residents in Goodhue County that lack sufficient resources to manage their chronic illness.

Mississippi - $35,000

Fellowship Health Clinic (Hattiesburg, MS), in support of expanded services to include medical care to more residents whose health is most greatly impacted by lack of health access, education, and care.

Missouri- $35,000

Kansas City CARE Clinic (Kansas City, MO), in support of its intensive dietary management program that will target patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

New Jersey - $30,000

Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative (Hackensack, NJ), in support of a diabetes care and education program.

New York - $68,466

Anthony L. Jordan Health Corporation (Rochester, NY), in support of a hypertension program that will address medication management, depression, diet, exercise and stress reduction.

Ithaca Health Alliance, Inc. (Ithaca, NY), in support of an integrative medicine pilot project using the chronic care model.

North Carolina - $115,000

MERCI Clinic, Inc. (New Bern, NC), in support of increasing positive intervention and outcome capacity for chronic diseases.

Shelter Health Services, Inc. (Charlotte, NC), in support of averting diabetes onset in at-risk homeless women.

Community Free Clinic, Inc. (Concord, NC), in support of a new medical home for low income uninsured adults diagnosed with chronic health conditions who have an emergency department or inpatient hospitalization.

Mustard Seed Community Health (Greensboro, NC), in support of asthma, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease programs.

Ohio- $100,000

North Coast Health (Lakewood, OH), in support of expanding its chronic illness management program.

Lake County Free Clinic (Painesville, OH), in support of expanding its services to facilitate walk-in patients.

Reach Out of Montgomery County (Dayton, OH), in support of a care coordination program that supports the health care systems to achieve better health outcomes.

Pennsylvania - $135,000

Free Clinic Association of PA (West Chester, PA), in support of a new project that will utilize motivational interviewing to improve health outcomes for patients living with chronic disease.

Sheep Inc. Health Care Center (Monroeville, PA), in support of a second clinic that will give expanded access to patients.

The University of Scranton (Scranton, PA), in support of an initiative to manage, reduce or eliminate risk factors of patients who suffer from diabetes, obesity and/or hypertension through healthy lifestyle modifications.

Hope Within Ministries, Inc. (Elizabethtown, PA), in support of increased access to primary health care and low-cost mental health counsel services.

Texas - $95,000

First Refuge Ministries (Denton, TX), in support of its diabetes prevention program to help Hispanic, non-English speaking families understand their risk for diabetes, learn ways to lower these risk factors, and avoid the onset of diabetes.

Volunteer Healthcare Clinic (Austin, TX), in support of its chronic disease management program that provides comprehensive care to individuals suffering from hypertension, diabetes and other endocrine disorders.

San Jose Clinic (Houston, TX), in support of a care coordination program for the uninsured.

Virginia - $70,000

Loudoun Free Clinic (Leesburg, VA), in support of a care coordination program that can help save lives, resources, and time and ensures dependable linkages between social and medical services for low-income residents of Loudoun County.

CrossOver Healthcare Ministry (Richmond, VA), in support of the Community Pharmacy Expansion Project that will address the need for improved access to affordable medications in Richmond.

Washington, D.C.- $33,170

Whitman Walker Clinic, Inc., in support of a telenursing program for patients with chronic disease.

Wisconsin - $70,000

St. Joseph's Medical Clinic, Inc. (Waukesha, WI), in support of expanded health care services for a patient-centered, multi-disciplinary approach.

HealthNet of Rock County, Inc. (Janesville, WI), in support of a program that will assist Spanish-speaking patients in navigating the complex health care system.

About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its approximately 9,600 retail pharmacies, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 75 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, and expanding specialty pharmacy services, the Company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com.

Media Contact

Mary Alfieri, CVS Health
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