Kroger Health and EVERFI Educate More Than 100,000 High School Students Through their Digital Prescription Safety Curriculum

Results come as Kroger Health and EVERFI celebrate fifth anniversary of collaboration to reduce medication misuse and overdoses

CINCINNATI, April 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kroger Health, the healthcare business of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), and EVERFI from Blackbaud, the leading social-impact education innovator, today released updated program results stemming from the companies' joint Prescription Drug Safety education curriculum for high school students. The collaboration is celebrating its fifth anniversary and has grown to include 14 geographies across the U.S., reaching more than 100,000 students in 1,300 schools.

Since 2018, Kroger Health and EVERFI have worked together in efforts to reduce the number of young adults misusing prescription medications, with a focus on reducing opioid-related deaths in the U.S. The Prescription Drug Safety curriculum is a valuable resource, sharing information about the potential for prescription medication misuse as well as tools students can use to make safe decisions and understand early warning signs of addiction.

As a result of taking part in this program, over the last five years:

• 80% of students can identify signs of prescription drug misuse;
• 83% of students understand various ways to refuse to participate in misuse of prescription drugs; and
• 79% of students now feel confident in their ability to step in to help someone who demonstrates the signs of misusing or abusing prescription drugs

"Through the Prescription Drug Safety education curriculum, we've educated more than 100,000 students, helping them recognize warning signs and providing resources to support friends who may be abusing or misusing prescription drugs," said Colleen Lindholz, president, Kroger Health. "Our goal is to give these students the knowledge and access to resources about drug misuse, empowering them to make choices that will help them lead healthier lives."

The Prescription Drug Safety education curriculum focuses on educating students and encouraging them to make safe decisions around prescription medications. The curriculum focuses on future behavioral intentions, as students can be exposed to difficult situations and choices throughout high school and beyond.

"Our Prescription Drug Safety curriculum provides students with important information about appropriate prescription drug use and how to avoid or recognize the warning signs of misuse," said Jon Chapman, president and co-founder, EVERFI. "With such an interactive and engaging program design, students are learning information that they can take into their lives beyond the classroom to inform healthy choices for the rest of their lives."

About Kroger:
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site. 

About Kroger Health: 
Kroger Health, the healthcare division of The Kroger Co., is one of America's leading retail healthcare organizations. Kroger Health and the Kroger Family of Pharmacies and clinics operate more than 2,200 pharmacies and 226 clinics in 35 states serving more than 17 million customers annually. Our team of 24,000 associates, including pharmacists, nurse practitioners dietitians and technicians, believe in practicing at the top of our licenses, enabling "food as medicine" to help prevent disease before it starts, and helping people live healthier lives. For more information, visit www.kroger.com/health.

About EVERFI:
EVERFI from Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is an international technology company driving social impact through education to address the most challenging issues affecting society ranging from financial wellness to mental health to workplace conduct and other critical topics. Founded in 2008, EVERFI's Impact-as-a-Service™ solution and digital educational content have reached more than 45 million learners globally. In 2020, the company was recognized as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company and was featured on Fortune Magazine's Impact 20 List. The company was also named to the 2021 GSV EdTech 150, a list of the most transformative growth companies in digital learning. Blackbaud, the leading provider of software for powering social impact, acquired EVERFI in December 2021. To learn more about EVERFI, please visit everfi.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter @EVERFI.

SOURCE The Kroger Co.