UnitedHealthcare Awarding $1 Million to Memphis-Area Nonprofits to Help Address Social Determinants of Health
May 13 2019 - 2:55PM
Business Wire
- Seven organizations receiving grants
through UnitedHealthcare’s Empowering Health program
- Part of company’s nationwide efforts to
redefine access to care through greater investments in social and
environmental factors that contribute to people’s well-being
UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, is
awarding $1 million in grants to seven Memphis-area nonprofit
organizations to expand their services that address key social
determinants of health, and improve care access and patient
outcomes.
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Local and state officials joined
UnitedHealthcare today to announce $1 million in grants to seven
Memphis-area nonprofits to help expand their services that address
key social determinants of health (Photo: Troy Glasgow).
The grants will support a range of critical needs in Memphis and
Shelby County, including dental care, access to fresh and healthy
food, addressing senior hunger and social isolation, and promoting
youth health, education and physical activity.
UnitedHealthcare is working with the nonprofits as part of its
Empowering Health program that focuses on redefining health access
and addressing the social determinants of health through
investments, innovation and volunteerism. Nearly 80 percent1 of
what influences a person’s health relates to nonmedical issues,
such as food, housing, transportation and the financial means to
pay for basic daily needs. Yet the health care system today directs
much of its financial resources to treating illnesses rather than
addressing these underlying social needs – which ultimately creates
the need for more medical care.
Grant recipients in the Memphis area include:
- Mid-South Food Bank – $500,000 to
support and expand its mobile food pantry and Healthy School Pantry
programs that increase access to fresh and healthy foods.
- Church Health – $90,000 to provide
specialty dental care to low-income and uninsured residents.
- Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association –
$90,000 to expand access to home-delivered meals to seniors through
MIFA Meals on Wheels.
- Regional One Health – $90,000 to launch
a food pantry at its outpatient clinic and provide food boxes to
people who are uninsured or are enrolled in TennCare or
Medicaid.
- Shelby County Education Foundation –
$90,000 to purchase hygiene and personal-care products for
low-income children attending Shelby County public schools.
- YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South –
$90,000 to launch its “Y on the Fly” program, featuring two mobile
units delivering critical resources to youth including healthy
meals, physical activity and water-safety courses, a mobile library
and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math)
enrichment programming to local youth.
- Christ Community Health Services –
$50,000 to provide preventive and restorative dental care to
uninsured students, homeless individuals and expectant
mothers.
“Thanks to UnitedHealthcare for bringing our community together
as we look for new and innovative ways to improve the health of
Memphis-area families and individuals,” said Memphis Mayor Jim
Strickland, who joined UnitedHealthcare, local officials and
representatives from the seven nonprofits at the Greater Memphis
Chamber today. “No single organization can do this alone. It takes
strategic planning and teamwork as demonstrated by
UnitedHealthcare’s leadership in partnering with our local
organizations to address the social factors affecting our
community’s health.”
UnitedHealthcare will help link the seven nonprofits to one
another so they can better leverage their efforts, creating an
interconnected system of clinical and social services capable of
producing better outcomes for local residents.
According to the most recent County Health Rankings issued
annually by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Shelby County
ranked 90th among Tennessee’s 95 counties when examining social and
economic factors such as income, education, employment, community
safety and social-support services.
“Living a healthy life is about more than just a regular visit
to the doctor’s office,” said Keith Payet, CEO of UnitedHealthcare
Community Plan of Tennessee. “Through programs like Empowering
Health, we are introducing innovative ways to integrate clinical
and social services and make a real impact on people’s health and
well-being, especially those who are uninsured or underserved.”
In addition to UnitedHealthcare’s support in Memphis, the
company has launched similar community initiatives and
public-private collaborations nationwide. It has invested more than
$400 million in affordable-housing communities, partnered with food
banks and meal-delivery services, and recently joined with the
American Medical Association to standardize how social determinant
data is collected and used to create more holistic care plans.
UnitedHealth Group employs 4,000 people in Tennessee and serves
the health care needs of nearly 1.3 million people statewide.
1Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings Model,
2014.
About
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare 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 1.2
million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 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.
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Media Contacts:Tony
MarusicUnitedHealthcare312-348-3825 office312-363-7714
mobiletony_marusic@uhc.com
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