CVS Health Foundation Awards over $1 Million in Grants to Improve Americans' Access to Quality Health Care

WOONSOCKET, R.I., April 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The CVS Health Foundation today announced more than $1 million in grants to 33 Free and Charitable Clinics as part of a multi-year grant program with the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC). Over the past four years, the Foundation has donated nearly $5 million to NAFC to increase access to quality care and support the management of chronic disease.

"As a pharmacy innovation company, we are committed to helping people on their path to better health in the communities where we live and work," said Eileen Howard Boone, president of the CVS Health Foundation. "Our support for the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics has yielded significant results over the past four years that demonstrate how increased access to quality care and innovative approaches to chronic disease management can affect the lives of the most vulnerable Americans."

New results released today by the CVS Health Foundation demonstrate how the support of previous grant recipients is making a meaningful impact on their goals of improving care coordination, managing chronic conditions and increasing access to care. Critical results from the past year include:

• SLO Noor Foundation (San Luis Obispo, CA) offered one extra day of services per week, providing care to an additional 241 patients that would otherwise not have been able to receive such necessary care in 2016.
• Through their smoking cessation classes, 70% of participants at the Miami Rescue Mission (Miami, FL) reported either quitting or significantly cutting back the use of tobacco.
• Good News Clinics (Gainesville, GA) recruited 22 additional physicians to expand availability of services for Health Access patients – surpassing their goal of 10 and thereby lessening the wait time for patients requiring specialty care.

"The NAFC is extremely grateful for the support our members receive from the CVS Health Foundation and their recognition of the life saving work Free and Charitable Clinics provide to the medically underserved throughout this country," said Nicole Lamoureux, NAFC CEO. "Their unwavering commitment and investment over the years has allowed our Free and Charitable Clinics to expand health care access, coordinate health care efforts and build healthier communities."

As the need for access to affordable care and improved health outcomes continue to weigh on the U.S. health care system, the CVS Health Foundation will be providing grants, ranging from $20,000 to $35,000, this year to the following NAFC recipients in support of chronic disease management and prevention for diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and asthma, improved care coordination and increased access to care programs:

• Arlington Free Clinic (Arlington, VA) - $35,000
• Cape Volunteers in Medicine, Inc. (Cape May Court House, NJ) - $30,000
• Catherine's Health Center (Grand Rapids, MI) - $35,000
• Center for Family Health & Education, Inc. (Panorama City, CA) - $35,000
• Clearwater Free Clinic, Inc. (Clearwater, FL) - $35,000
• Community Care Clinic (Boone, NC) - $35,000
• Community Care Clinic of Rowan County (Salisbury, NC) - $20,000
• Community Health Center of West Palm Beach (West Palm Beach, FL) - $30,000
• CommunityHealth (Chicago, IL) - $35,000
• Cornerstone Assistance Network (Fort Worth, TX) - $35,000
• Free Clinic of Central Virginia  (Lynchburg, VA) - $35,000
• Free Clinic of Meridian, Inc. (Meridian, MS) - $35,000
• Good News Clinics (Gainesville, GA) - $35,000
• Health Brigade (Richmond, VA) - $35,000
• Helping Hands Health and Wellness Center (Columbus, OH) - $35,000
• Hope Health Clinic (La Grange, KY) - $35,000
• Johnstown Free Medical Clinic (Johnstown, PA) - $25,000
• Lake Norman Community Health Clinic (Huntersville, NC) - $35,000
• Malta House of Care, Inc. (Hartford, CT) - $35,000
• Martin Luther King Health Center & Pharmacy (Shreveport, LA) - $30,000
• Northern Neck – Middlesex Free Health Clinic (Kilmarnock, VA) - $35,000
• NovaScripts Central, Inc. (Falls Church, VA) - $35,000
• Ohio Association of Free Clinics (Columbus, OH) - $35,000
• People's Health Clinic (Park City, UT) - $20,000
• Shelter Health Services (Charlotte, NC) - $25,000
• St. Martin's Healthcare, Inc. (Garrett, IN) - $35,000
• St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy (Cincinnati, OH) - $35,000
• St. Vincent de Paul Virginia G. Piper Medical & Dental Clinic (Phoenix, AZ) - $35,000
• The Free Medical Clinic, Inc. (Columbia, SC) - $25,000
• The Night Ministry (Chicago, IL) - $35,000
• The Olympia Free Clinic (Olympia, WA) - $20,000
• TOMAGWA HealthCare Ministries (Tomball, TX) - $35,000
• Volunteers in Medicine, Chattanooga, Inc. (Chattanooga, TN) - $35,000

For more information on how the Free and Charitable Clinics will be utilizing their grants to improve community health, please visit www.cvshealth.com/NAFC.

About the CVS Health Foundation
The CVS Health Foundation is a private charitable organization created by CVS Health that works to build healthier communities, enabling people of all ages to lead healthy, productive lives. The Foundation provides strategic investments to nonprofit partners throughout the U.S. who help increase community-based access to health care for underserved populations, create innovative approaches to chronic disease management and provide tobacco cessation and youth prevention programming. We also invest in scholarship programs that open the pathways to careers in pharmacy to support the academic aspirations of the best and brightest talent in the industry. Our philanthropy also extends to supporting our colleagues' spirit of volunteerism through Volunteer Challenge grants to nonprofits where they donate their time and fundraising efforts. To learn more about the CVS Health Foundation and its giving, visit www.cvshealth.com/social-responsibility.

Media Contact
Mary Alfieri, [email protected], 401-770-9811

SOURCE CVS Health Foundation