Humana, Continucare Team with Feeding South Florida to Address High Food Insecurity
March 21 2017 - 2:15PM
Business Wire
Area research finds nearly half of patients
recently screened positive for food insecurity
After launching the Bold Goal of making the Broward County
community 20 percent healthier by 2020 in late 2015, Humana Inc.
(NYSE: HUM), in partnership with non-profit organizations and
physicians, recognizes that tackling food insecurity ranks high as
a way to positively impact community health.
Humana partnered with Continucare Medical Centers and Feeding
South Florida to pilot a program to help address food insecurity in
Broward County. During a four-week period, all patients at four
Continucare centers in Broward County with an office visit were
screened for food insecurity. Of the 530 patients screened, 46
percent screened positive for food insecurity.
All patients who screened positive were offered a consultation
with a Feeding South Florida representative, an emergency food box,
as well as information on federal, state and local programs to
assist with food insecurity. Almost all, 96 percent, of the
patients who met with Feeding South Florida, accepted the emergency
food box and 83 percent of the patients were referred to local food
pantries and other agencies.
“We found our clinic associates were eager to adopt this program
and help make a positive impact on our patients’ lives,” reported
Humana Regional Medical Director Carey Connolly, D.O. “The
simplicity of the Food Insecurity survey, combined with the
satisfaction of seeing the patient leave with a box of food and a
connection with a food resource in the community, was so rewarding
for all involved.”
Dr. Connolly reported that patients who screened positive had
nearly two times as many unhealthy days as patients who screened
negative, as measured by the Healthy Days survey completed by
participants. Healthy Days, a tool established by the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, measures how individuals perceive
their physical and mental health, and is the metric Humana uses to
measure progress towards its Bold Goal.
“Feeding South Florida is incredibly grateful for the
opportunity to work with Humana on such an innovative,
forward-thinking project that really highlights the correlation
between health and food security,” said Feeding South Florida Vice
President of Community Relations Sari M. Vatske. “We believe that
the work we do isn’t just about feeding people, it’s about
providing the proper nutrition necessary to thrive.”
“Addressing food insecurity as a barrier to health is a top
priority toward reaching our Bold Goal,” said Emily McGrath, the
Humana strategic consultant in charge of leading the team’s food
insecurity initiatives. “Through programs like the one in Broward
County, we are able to show how a partnership between physicians
and community organizations like Feeding South Florida can have a
dramatic and positive impact on population health.”
The Broward County Food Insecurity program indicated patients
were receptive to food insecurity screenings in a clinical setting.
It also allowed Humana to measure the relationship between Healthy
Days and food insecurity and understand the health differences
between food insecure and food secure patients. As a result, the
company is looking to expand food insecurity screenings and
referral programs to other clinics in South Florida.
About Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a leading
health and well-being company focused on making it easy for people
to achieve their best health with clinical excellence through
coordinated care. The company’s strategy integrates care delivery,
the member experience, and clinical and consumer insights to
encourage engagement, behavior change, proactive clinical outreach
and wellness for the millions of people we serve across the
country.
More information regarding Humana is available to investors via
the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at
www.humana.com, including copies of:
- Annual reports to stockholders
- Securities and Exchange Commission
filings
- Most recent investor conference
presentations
- Quarterly earnings news releases and
conference calls
- Calendar of events
- Corporate Governance information
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170321006364/en/
Humana Corporate CommunicationsNancy A. Hanewinckel,
941-585-4763nhanewinckel1@humana.com
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