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Grants are part of a $3 million, multi-year initiative to help people nationwide manage and prevent chronic diseases; Survey unveils public's misconception and understanding of chronic diseases
Grants are part of a $3 million, multi-year initiative to help people nationwide manage and prevent chronic diseases; Survey unveils public's misconception and understanding of chronic diseases
Published 04-24-13
Submitted by CVS Caremark Charitable Trust
The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, a private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) today announced the recipients of the “Innovations in Community Health” grants, which have been awarded to community health centers nationwide through a partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). The grants will help community health centers increase access to quality health care and produce better health outcomes while reducing costs for patients and healthcare systems.
The grants, which total more than $1 million, have been awarded to 21 community health centers to support the development of innovative, community-based programs and initiatives that focus on the treatment and management of chronic illnesses, specifically heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and asthma.
“Today, community health centers are providing affordable health care services to more than 22 million patients in more than 9,000 locations throughout the country,” said Tom Van Coverden, President and CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers. “Through our partnership with the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, we are able to work with the ‘Innovations in Community Health’ grant recipients to not only help them provide their local communities with access to innovative and high quality health care but also educate the public on how they can prevent and manage chronic diseases.”
More than half of Americans suffer from one or more chronic diseases every year and chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. A survey released today by CVS Caremark could explain why. “The CVS Caremark Chronic Disease Awareness Survey” reveals the public’s misconception and understanding of chronic diseases, with the majority of respondents admitting that they are not doing as much as they could to stay healthy. Twenty-eight percent of respondents think there is little they can do to prevent most chronic diseases, yet modifiable health risk behaviors, including lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption, contribute most to the exacerbation of chronic diseases. Additional insights include:
The survey also showed that while a majority of people agree that reducing stress, exercising, improving their diet or regularly visiting a doctor can help prevent chronic diseases, more than half of people admit they are not doing much to prevent them.
“Chronic diseases impact everyone and the number of people living with a chronic disease is expected to increase over the next decade. The results from the ‘Chronic Disease Awareness Survey’ show that many of us do not know the contributors of the most common chronic diseases,” said Larry Merlo, President and CEO, CVS Caremark. “Community health centers play a critical role in both helping to educate the public on health-related issues and increasing access to high quality health care services that can help manage and prevent chronic diseases.”
While changes in our health care system will qualify millions of more people for health coverage, it's still a challenge for many to find quality care that could help manage – even prevent – many chronic diseases.
“Through our partnership with NACHC, we are providing much-needed funding to support affordable community-based health care models that are producing innovative programming in the area of chronic disease management,” said Eileen Howard Boone, President, CVS Caremark Charitable Trust. “The programs will use a variety of methods to help people manage their chronic disease and improve health outcomes – including the use of tele-medicine, nurse practitioners to monitor at-risk patients and wellness circles that bring people together who are living with and working to manage the same chronic disease.”
Funding through the “Innovations in Community Health” grant program will support community health centers nationwide that are helping patients manage chronic disease, including:
For more information, please visit www.cvscaremarkfyi.com/BuildingHealthierCommunities.
About the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust
The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, Inc. is a private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS). CVS Caremark is the largest pharmacy health care provider in the nation. The Trust's mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives in CVS Caremark communities. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's website at www.investor.cvs.com, or through the website's press room www.cvscaremark.com/newsroom.
About the National Association of Community Health Centers
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) was founded in 1971. Its mission is to promote the provision of high quality, comprehensive and affordable health care that is coordinated, culturally and linguistically competent, and community directed for all medically underserved populations. For more information on the National Association of Community Health Centers, please visit www.nachc.com.
The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, Inc. is a private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS).
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