SANTA BARBARA, Calif. & PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Direct Relief, the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC), and Teva Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. affiliate of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA), today announced the continued funding of 11 local free and charitable clinics in the U.S. as part of a $2 million, two-year commitment, through their collaborative Community Routes: Access to Mental Health Care program that aims to advance access to healthcare for uninsured patients seeking treatment for anxiety and depression.
The second round of funding to the clinics in Florida, New Jersey and California underscores the commitment by Teva and its partners to expand access to mental health resources. The grants will support further expansion of the clinics’ innovative behavioral health services that are tailored to meet the cultural and language needs of patients in their local communities, including screening and services focused on trauma-informed care, training, continued community outreach and partnership development, new delivery sites, and continued trust-building among their patients and communities.
“Teva’s continued support for mental health across the U.S. builds on the past year’s success, connecting even more patients with quality care,” said Thomas Tighe, CEO and President of Direct Relief. “Over the past year, free clinics serving the most vulnerable patients were able to use these resources as a force multiplier for good. Direct Relief is privileged to work with these clinics, the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, and Teva, on this initiative that is again helping so many.”
"We know that a third of adults in the U.S. show symptoms of anxiety, depression or both – and more than 5.5 million adults with a mental illness are uninsured," said Sven Dethlefs, PhD, Executive Vice President, North America Commercial at Teva. "Through this partnership, we are able to help address the rising need for community-based mental health care for uninsured and underserved populations."
Nicole Lamoureux, President and CEO of NAFC said, “It is imperative that we continue to prioritize investment into mental health and behavioral programs. The funding from Community Routes provides these indispensable and trailblazing clinics with the momentum they need to create and expand mental health programs that can address the needs of their local communities.”
By the numbers
Through Community Routes: Access to Mental Health Care program, Teva is providing funds and broad portfolio of generic medicines to help advance health equity and quality care for underserved populations suffering from depression and anxiety. Within the program’s first six months, the eleven grant recipients reached over 22,000 patients within underserved communities, supporting individuals already facing other challenges , including food insecurity, low literacy, homelessness and disabilities.
Program impact includes the facilitation of more than 7,300 anxiety, depression and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) screenings, over 400 staff/volunteer and community member trainings, and nearly 20 community events across NJ, CA and FL.
“Without the grant funding, there would be no access to therapy services. In a post COVID world, there has never been more need for mental health services, both therapy and medication. We are making a difference because of the grant.” said Greg Speed, Counselor at Cape Volunteers in Medicine in Cape May Court House, New Jersey.
Visit TevaUSA.com to learn more about the Community Routes program, including a video highlighting the many voices behind the grassroots-focused program.
The 2023 grantee clinic recipients to receive continued funding through Community Routes are outlined below with an overview of their recent focus and impact made in their local communities to-date.
FLORIDA
- University of Florida Mobile Outreach in Gainesville, Florida - Create and disseminate evidence-informed, easily accessible mental health wellness curriculum and training to underserved populations via trusted community members through a mobile outreach model.
- Grace Medical Home in Orlando, Florida - Expand an existing program that proactively identifies trauma and offers individualized interventions through an integrated, whole-person, multi-disciplinary approach to improve health outcomes.
- Talbot House Ministries of Lakeland, Inc., in Lakeland, Florida - Support medication reconciliation services provided through the pharmacy, outreach and event coordination, and outreach to homeless encampments to connect with clinical services and referrals for mental health care, patient transportation, and education.
NEW JERSEY
- Cape Volunteers in Medicine in Cape May Court House, New Jersey - Improve mental and behavioral health access and treatment among at-risk populations by expanding depression and anxiety screenings. Funding also supports community events and outreach to identify community members' mental and physical needs.
- Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative, Inc., in Hackensack, New Jersey - Increase capacity and fill a much-needed gap in care for Spanish-speaking patients with depression and anxiety through the support of a bilingual mental health practitioner and telehealth services to help reduce stigma and barriers to care.
- Parker Family Health Center in Red Bank, New Jersey - Support a collaboration with the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County, which allows for a bilingual therapist to offer weekly counseling and the creation of mental health education to be shared at live community events, virtually, and digitally.
CALIFORNIA
- Samaritan House in San Mateo, California - Support implementation of best practices in treating depression, anxiety, and trauma, as well as working with geriatric and immigrant populations. The creation of a student-led trainee program to expand group and individual services and the adoption of psychoeducational books, in native languages, to help promote awareness and reduce stigma.
- Symba Center in Apple Valley, California - Expand partnership with local behavioral health services organization to remove barriers and support successful, trauma-informed, mental and behavioral health care at a homeless shelter site.
- Westminster Free Clinic in Thousand Oaks, California - Offer a range of culturally and linguistically competent mental health services, including individual and peer support, and a training program that empowers parents to identify the early signs of mental health issues.
- Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, California - Establish protocols and formalize behavioral health program under a Behavioral Health Program Manager to provide care through a trauma-informed lens and create a mentorship program for behavioral health interns from local colleges and universities.
- Savie Health in Lompoc, California - Create a screening protocol for social determinants of health (SDOH), depression, and anxiety and provide culturally sensitive resources and referrals to help patients overcome barriers to mental health care.
About Direct Relief
A humanitarian organization committed to improving the health and lives of people affected by poverty and emergencies, Direct Relief delivers lifesaving medical resources throughout the U.S. and world to communities in need—without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay. For more information, visit https://www.DirectRelief.org.
About National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics
National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) is the only nonprofit 501c (3) organization whose mission is solely focused on the issues and needs of the medically underserved throughout the nation and the more than 1,400 Free and Charitable Clinics that serve them. The NAFC has earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar and a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. Founded in 2001 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., the NAFC is working to ensure that the medically underserved have access to affordable quality health care and strives to be a national voice promoting quality health care for all. For more information about the NAFC, please visit www.nafcclinics.org.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) has been developing and producing medicines to improve people’s lives for more than a century. We are a global leader in generic and innovative medicines with a portfolio consisting of over 3,500 products in nearly every therapeutic area. Around 200 million people around the world take a Teva medicine every day, and are served by one of the largest and most complex supply chains in the pharmaceutical industry. Along with our established presence in generics, we have significant innovative research and operations supporting our growing portfolio of innovative and biopharmaceutical products. Learn more at www.tevapharm.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause our future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from that expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “target,” “may,” “project,” “guidance,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning and expression in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to: our ability to continue funding 11 local free and charitable clinics in the U.S. through collaborative access to mental healthcare programs; our ability to successfully compete in the marketplace, including: that we are substantially dependent on our generic products; concentration of our customer base and commercial alliances among our customers; delays in launches of new generic products; the increase in the number of competitors targeting generic opportunities and seeking U.S. market exclusivity for generic versions of significant products; our ability to successfully launch and execute our new strategy, including to expand our innovative and biosimilar medicines pipeline and profitably commercialize the innovative medicines and biosimilar portfolio, whether organically or through business development, and to sustain and focus our portfolio of generics medicines; our substantial indebtedness; our business and operations in general, including: the impact of global economic conditions and other macroeconomic developments and the governmental and societal responses thereto; compliance, regulatory and litigation matters, including: failure to comply with complex legal and regulatory environments; other financial and economic risks; and other factors discussed in this press release, in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of 2023 and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, including in the sections captioned "Risk Factors” and “Forward Looking Statements.” Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
