UniCare Takes Action to Address Critical West Virginia Health Needs and Create a Healthier Generation of West Virginians

UniCare Foundation, UniCare Health Plan and associates support the state with approximately $360,000 in grants and sponsorships in 2016

CHARLESTON, W.Va.--()--The UniCare Foundation, the philanthropic arm of UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, has made more than $330,000 in grants available in 2016 to improve the health and wellbeing of West Virginians. Additionally, UniCare Health Plan, a statewide provider of West Virginia Medicaid managed care services, along with its associates, contributed another $28,000 to sponsor health initiatives and community improvement. Partner organizations helped to allocate the funds:

  • A grant was provided to the American Heart Association to advance efforts to double cardiac arrest survival rates by 2020 through Hands-Only CPR education and training. UniCare Foundation funding enabled the purchase and distribution of hundreds of CPR training kits. More than 2,200 West Virginians have already been trained in the lifesaving Hands-Only CPR. More than 640 of these individuals received their training during a mobile training tour that UniCare brought to West Virginia.
  • The Foundation provided two Triple Play Program grants to local Boys & Girls Clubs that made it possible for more than 285 West Virginia youth to participate in Triple Play’s active lifestyle programs. These grants enriched programing and connected more than 4,000 youth across the entire state of West Virginia.
  • The American Lung Association received a grant from the Foundation to make smoking cessation more accessible to pregnant women in McDowell, Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming counties. This support helped engage more than 190 West Virginians in cessation clinics and sponsored Freedom from Smoking facilitator training, which yielded 14 facilitators who are now certified to lead smoking cessation clinics within their communities. Additionally, funding was used for a comprehensive public awareness campaign that involved television, radio, print literature, billboards and more to reach tens of thousands of people.
  • Through a fund established to help associates who are experiencing personal hardship, illness or injury, the Foundation distributed thousands of dollars to help associates who were impacted by the devastating flooding that hit West Virginia in June 2016.
  • UniCare associates also raised nearly $18,000 for local charities and non-profits through personal donations and a company program that matches volunteer hours with dollars. UniCare associates also volunteers more than 260 hours of their personal time in 2016, to help residents and improve communities across West Virginia.

“UniCare is proud of the support contributed by our Foundation and associates to help West Virginia to thrive, grow and prosper,” said Mitch Collins, president of UniCare Health Plan. “We remain committed to improving health and wellness across our state, and look forward to continuing to build brighter futures.”

UniCare funds programs that help address complex health needs and raise awareness about statewide health issues, particularly obesity, chronic disease, prenatal care and cardiac arrest. Funded programs promote the importance of health education, staying physically active, access to appropriate nutrition and making healthy lifestyle choices. For more information about sponsored programs and funding, see the company’s annual online Corporate Responsibility Report, which outlines the company’s commitment to making a difference in people’s lives through the work of its associates, the philanthropic efforts of its Foundation, its diversity/inclusion initiatives and its environmentally responsible business practices.

ABOUT THE UNICARE FOUNDATION

The UniCare Foundation is the philanthropic arm of UniCare Health Plan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem, Inc. Together, with local, regional and national organizations, the UniCare Foundation works to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that UniCare and its affiliated health plans serve. UniCare Foundation funding is focused on strategic initiatives working to address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative with five areas of focus: Healthy Heart, Cancer Prevention, Healthy Maternal Practices, Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, and Healthy Active Lifestyle. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company’s year-round Associate Giving program which provides a 50 percent match of associates’ campaign pledges, as well as Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. To learn more about the UniCare Foundation, please visit www.anthem.foundation.

ABOUT UNICARE HEALTH PLAN OF WEST VIRGINIA, INC.

UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc. serves more than 140,000 Medicaid beneficiaries living in West Virginia. Every day, members of the UniCare team can be found in West Virginia communities listening to our members, interacting with our health care providers and partnering with community-based organizations. UniCare has served Medicaid beneficiaries in West Virginia since 2003. For more information about UniCare, visit http://mss.unicare.com/, and follow the company on Twitter @UniCareWV.

Contacts

UniCare Media Contact:
Denise Malecki
813-830-6986
dionisia.malecki@anthem.com

Release Summary

UniCare Foundation, UniCare Health Plan and associates support West Virginians across the state with approximately $360,000 in health and wellness grants and sponsorships in 2016.

Contacts

UniCare Media Contact:
Denise Malecki
813-830-6986
dionisia.malecki@anthem.com