Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation and Malta House of Care Launch Health Coach Program for Uninsured Hartford Patients

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"Managing chronic disease isn't easy for anyone, but it's especially hard for those without insurance," said Michelle Murphy, executive director, Malta House of Care Foundation. "That's why we are so excited to be partnering with Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation to bring this wonderful new resource to patients who rely on Malta House of Care as their medical home."

The health coach will partner with patients who have struggled to manage their health in the past, working at the mobile medical clinic's sites in the Asylum Hill, Barry Square and Downtown neighborhoods in Hartford, and at the Burnside Avenue location in East Hartford. Success will be determined by measuring changes in clinical outcomes such as blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol; overall clinic productivity; and patient and staff satisfaction.

The Malta House of Care Health Coach Program is an expansion of Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation-funded health coach programming with Americares Free Clinics, which currently serves uninsured patients at the Boehringer Ingelheim Americares Free Clinic in Danbury, CT. The Health Coach Program model was born out of a cross-sector assessment of community needs, existing programming and best practices in improving patient outcomes nationwide. The field of health coaching emerged to fill an information gap, based on research that shows half of patients—with and without insurance—leave medical visits without understanding their provider's advice.¹

"The mission of the Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation is to improve the lives of patients in need in our local communities and around the globe," said Paul Fonteyne, president and CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim USA and chairman, Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation Board of Directors. "We're pleased to support the Health Coach Program expansion to Malta House of Care to provide more uninsured patients with the skills and confidence to take charge of their health and achieve their health goals."

Health coaching involves one-on-one interactions with patients to ensure they have the information they need, and understand what they need to do achieve their health goals. The approach can also help offset the heavy workload placed on primary care providers for chronic disease management.² Lack of health adherence is a widely-recognized threat to public health and results in poor patient health outcomes. Non-adherence is also a significant financial burden on the healthcare system—not taking medication as prescribed is estimated to cost the U.S. healthcare system $300 billion annually.³

"In the first year of the Health Coach Program in Danbury we've seen even small changes in diet and exercise can make a difference in a patient's health and the health of their families," said Karen Gottlieb, executive director, Americares Free Clinics. "We know it's not about telling patients what to do, but rather empowering them to take control of their own health. This is an exciting opportunity to bring that support to the community served by Malta House of Care."

About Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation
Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation is a non-profit foundation with a mission to provide "more health" to patients, families and communities through its major programs:

1. A Patient Assistance Program that makes our branded medicines available free of charge to patients without prescription insurance coverage who meet certain eligibility criteria
2. A Product Donation Program that donates Boehringer Ingelheim medicines to approved nonprofit partners who meet certain standards, and who distribute the medicines around the world where there is tremendous unmet need
3. A Strategic Community Investment Program that provides financial support to Connecticut community-driven programs that improve access to healthcare and enhance STEM education for the underserved
4. A Skills-based Volunteer Program through which employees donate their time and skills to nonprofit organizations to help fill community needs

About Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation.

Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, the company operates globally with approximately 50,000 employees. Since its founding in 1885, the company has remained family-owned and today creates value through innovation for three business areas including human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing.

Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improving lives and providing valuable services and support to patients and their families. Our employees create and engage in programs that strengthen our communities. Please visit our website to learn more about how we make more health for more people through our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

In 2016, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about $17.6 billion (15.9 billion euros). R&D expenditure corresponds to 19.6 percent of its net sales.

For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.us, or follow us on Twitter @BoehringerUS

About Malta House of Care
Malta House of Care is a mobile medical clinic that provides high-quality, compassionate, free primary and preventive health care and health coaching to uninsured adults in Greater Hartford, Connecticut. With a small paid staff and generosity of about 40 volunteer doctors, nurses and other medical providers, Malta drives into four economically challenged neighborhoods every week, bringing hope and healing on its big, white, iconic van. Since its founding in 2006, Malta has provided 41,314 free patient visits to about 7,500 people who otherwise would have had nowhere to turn for primary care, testing, diagnosis, treatment, medication and health education. For more information please visit: www.maltahouseofcare.org.

¹ Nielsen-Bohlman L, Panzer AM, Kindig DA, eds. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End the Confusion. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2004. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10883 Accessed May 17, 2013.
² A.E. Sharma, R.W. Grace, D. Hessler, T. Bodenheimer, D. Thom. What Happens After Health Coaching? Observations Study 1 Year Following a Randomized Controlled Trial. May/June 2016.
³ Benjamin RM. Medication Adherence: Helping Patients Take Their Medicines As Directed. Public Health Reports. 2012;127(1):2-3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3234383/ Accessed March 21, 2017.

SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation