UnitedHealthcare Awards $1 Million Grant to Jordan Valley Community Health Center to Expand Use of Community Health Workers
Grant is part of UnitedHealthcare’s Empowering Health program,
which is redefining access to care by investing in social and
environmental factors that influence people’s health
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, has awarded
a $1 million grant to Jordan Valley Community Health Center (JVCHC) to
help the nonprofit expand its community health worker program. Last
year, UnitedHealthcare provided $1.5 million to JVCHC, which enabled the
health care center to reach over 10,000 patients by adding 15 new
community health workers and expanding services.
The community health workers connect Missourians in need to critical
resources such as food, housing and transportation, and provide
one-on-one health screenings and preventive-care services. The team also
helps individuals and families apply for and use health benefits,
schedule doctor appointments, manage medications, and provide personal
support to set and reach goals that can improve their long-term health.
“We are very grateful to have received this additional grant from
UnitedHealthcare to grow our community health worker program and offer
needed services to more people in our community,” said Brooks Miller,
CEO of Jordan Valley Community Health Center. “The personal connection
our community health workers have with the people they serve establishes
a caring and trusting environment at Jordan Valley Community Health
Center. This grant enables us to build on that foundation and continue
improving our community’s health through access and relationships.”
The grant was made possible through UnitedHealthcare’s Empowering Health
program, a national initiative to improve the health of underserved
people in local communities through greater investments in
social-support programs. Nearly 80 percent1 of what
influences a person’s health relates to nonmedical issues. Yet the
health care system today directs much of its resources to treating
illnesses rather than addressing these underlying social needs – which
ultimately creates the need for more medical care.
“We believe health care must expand beyond clinical care and treat the
whole person by addressing each individual’s unique social needs, such
as food security, access to transportation, and safe and affordable
housing,” said Jamie Bruce, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of
Missouri. “Empowering Health will accelerate the work and resources
necessary to improve the health of many people in this area, especially
those with complex health and social service needs.”
About Jordan Valley Community Health Center
Jordan Valley
Community Health Center is a federally qualified health center in
Southwest Missouri, with a mission to improving the community’s health
through access and relationships, committed to providing quality
medical, dental, vision and behavioral health services at nine clinic
locations.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to
helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work
better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting
consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships
with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the
full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and
Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more
than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals
and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health
benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health
care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the
businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care
company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com
or follow @UHC on Twitter.
1Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings
Model, 2014.
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Contacts
Garrett Kasper
UnitedHealthcare
(314) 592-7347
garrett_kasper@uhc.com
Michael Eaton
Jordan Valley Community Health Center
(417)
860-2003
meaton@jordanvalley.org
