CVS Health commits $2.5M in new funding to build healthier communities in Ohio

CVS Health is stepping up its commitment to building healthier communities. CVS Health and its private charity will be donating more than $2.5 million in Ohio over the next three years to improve the health and wellness of Ohioans across the state.

The new funding from CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation will help support Ohio nonprofits as they tackle critical health issues that the state is currently facing. Grants to a number of different organizations will focus on mitigating prescription opioid abuse and misuse, expanding access to health care for underinsured and uninsured populations, and helping people to quit smoking. The company is also committed to expanding its workforce presence and training programs within Ohio.

“We can help improve the health outcomes of our communities by strengthening our local support and empowering local organizations that are developing innovative solutions,” said Eileen Howard Boone, CVS Health senior vice president, corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. “The organizations we are working with are truly dedicated to addressing the key public health issues in the state of Ohio and can help people on their path to better health.”

Through a new $1.5 million donation over three years to the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, CVS Health will help provide convenient access to care for more than 52,000 underserved Ohioans each year. The new grant program will allow the more than 60 free clinics across the state to increase capacity through additional staffing support, education and training for clinic teams. The funds will also be used to create new programming that will do more to support chronic disease management and address social determinants of health.

To help veterans impacted by opioid misuse, the CVS Health Foundation has made a $100,000 grant to Easterseals of Cincinnati, over two years, to provide immersive community-based care, including mental health and recovery services for veterans.

CVS Pharmacy has also expanded its Safe Medication program in Ohio to 82 new locations during 2019, bringing the total number of in-store and community medication disposal units across the state to nearly 200. CVS Pharmacy has also expanded its successful Pharmacists Teach program to engage more than 500 Ohio youth and their parents on the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

As part of the company’s $50 million, Be The First initiative to help deliver the first tobacco-free generation, CVS Health is also committing $500,000 to the American Lung Association to help Ohioans quit smoking. The new donation will provide more than a quarter million Ohio Managed Medicaid plan members access to tobacco cessation services in 2019 and 2020 – especially important, since it is estimated that nearly 32% of all Medicaid patients nationwide smoke. Through the new partnership with the American Lung Association, participants will receive a one-year membership to the successful Freedom from Smoking program, which includes online cessation modules and access to the Lung Help Line.

Additionally, CVS Health is providing the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics with a $30,000 grant to incorporate a youth tobacco screening tool to assist health care providers in identifying adolescent smoking/vaping behavior and smoke exposure, and to equip health care providers with resources to share with their patients and caregivers.

CVS Health is also committed to expanding and enhancing its workforce programs in the state of Ohio to help find meaningful employment for veterans, individuals with disabilities, as well as youth and mature workers. The company recently opened a new Workforce Innovation & Talent Center in Cleveland, and this year has opened six other training sites across the state in Cleveland, Youngstown, Middleburg Heights, Cincinnati, Painesville, and Lewis Center. CVS Health will also continue to work with community partners, such as Centers for Families and Children, Goodwill Industries, Baldwin Wallace University and local high schools across the state, to support the growing needs of the Ohio workforce.

“Our continued investments to local non-profits and our workforce are key to making a meaningful impact on the lives of the people of Ohio,” said David Casey, CVS Health vice president, workforce strategies, and chief diversity officer. “We are committed to working with these organizations to expand the delivery of care and build healthier communities across the state.”