WellCare Donates $50,000 to Live Well Omaha to Support Healthy Home Inspections in Douglas County
Program to Identify Omaha-Area Homes with Lead Paint, Structural Allergens Affecting Children and Families Living with Asthma
LINCOLN, Neb. and TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare of Nebraska, a WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) company, announced today it has donated $50,000 to support Live Well Omaha, a local coalition and its Healthy Homes inspections pilot. The donation will assist with identifying homes that have tested positive for lead paint or asthma triggers impacting children and families living in Douglas County.
According to the Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance, a member of the Live Well Omaha coalition, lead is a significant environmental health hazard to children in Douglas County. Approximately 678 children in the county have blood lead levels exceeding the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) level of concern, and in 2015, 6 percent of Omaha-area children had asthma. Of these kids, 31 percent had urgent or emergency care visits to treat asthma, and 35 percent of their parents missed at least one day of work to provide care.
To help create healthier homes for children and families in Douglas County, WellCare's donation will support the coalition's application of the Wyatt Tool, a Healthy Home assessment tool used to identify unhealthy triggers within a property and refer the inhabitants to resources for abatement. This service will directly impact residents living in Douglas County public and voucher properties.
Residents, whose homes are determined by the Wyatt Tool to have unsafe levels of lead paint or allergens, will be connected by the coalition with the appropriate entity for intervention. The coalition's goal is to have 100 percent of the target population properties inspected with this tool by 2025.
"Healthy homes can lead to an increased quality of life for children and parents, fewer missed school and work days, reduced healthcare costs and healthier communities," said Lou Gianquinto, interim state president, WellCare of Nebraska. "As a company driven by our mission to help our members live better, healthier lives, we're thrilled to partner with Live Well Omaha to promote safer, healthier housing for children and families living with asthma in Douglas County."
Live Well Omaha Coalition members include Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance, Omaha Housing Authority, Douglas County Health Department, Metro Omaha Tobacco Action Coalition (MOTAC), University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health and the City of Omaha's Planning Department. To learn more about Live Well Omaha, visit https://livewellomaha.org.
About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses primarily on providing government-sponsored managed care services to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, as well as individuals in the Health Insurance Marketplace. WellCare serves approximately 5.5 million members nationwide as of December 31, 2018. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com.
SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
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