CareFirst invests $7.1 million to combat diabetes in communities

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), one of many largest not-for-profit healthcare organizations, introduced that it’s investing $7.1 million in 30 community-based organizations within the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia to fight diabetes.

“Diabetes is the seventh main reason behind dying in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, disproportionately affecting underserved communities in our area, so we should deal with it collectively,” stated Lester Davis, CareFirs vp and chief of employees, who leads the group’s neighborhood and public well being initiatives. “Meals safety and diet schooling play a essential function in stopping and managing diabetes. This is the reason CareFirst is investing in native packages that instantly deal with these points to make sure communities have entry to the assets they should lead more healthy lives.”  

The funding, a part of CareFirst’s Place-Primarily based Grants Initiative, will assist neighborhood and well being collaboratives to deal with diabetes and diet-related continual situations for sustainable enhancements in neighborhood well being. 

Focusing on precedence areas recognized as Wholesome Meals Precedence Areas, with a excessive prevalence of diabetes, the multi-year grants will deal with enhancing entry to wholesome, inexpensive meals and selling well-being in our communities.  

 CareFirst tasks the grants will affect on 1.5 million residents throughout the area. The funded packages deal with three key areas: 

Increasing native meals programs to extend entry to wholesome, inexpensive meals choices in Wholesome Meals Precedence Areas;

Implementing food-is-medicine packages, together with producing prescription packages to assist continual illness administration; and

Offering meals literacy, diet schooling, and wholesome meal preparation coaching. 

Meals insecurity is a big public well being challenge that impacts general wellness, in keeping with CareFirst officers. Within the District, one in eight residents lack dependable entry to nutritious meals, and in Wards 7 and eight, one in 5 youngsters has restricted entry to grocery shops, in keeping with the Capital Space Meals Financial institution’s 2024 Starvation Report. 

One in 9 Marylanders, together with one in seven youngsters, faces meals insecurity, in keeping with a 2023 research by Maryland Starvation Options whereas in Northern Virginia, one in 4 individuals experiences meals insecurity in keeping with the Capital Space Meals Financial institution’s 2024 Starvation Report.

To alleviate the burden of meals insecurity, and the affect it has on general wellness, CareFirst officers say it’s important to drive investments to generate entry to nutritious high-quality meals and assets throughout the area.  

CareFirst engages with native communities to know their most urgent wants, utilizing that suggestions to information its investments. Over the previous few years, CareFirst has devoted $1.7 million to native well being enchancment coalitions and community-based organizations addressing the components that contribute to the severity and probability of creating diabetes. 

This newest $7.1 million funding builds on these efforts, additional advancing well being fairness, dietary safety whereas enhancing entry to high quality care throughout the area.

Native grant recipients embody: American Diabetes Affiliation, American College Blossom Training Options Inc.; Bread for the Metropolis; Brighter Bites;  Constructing Bridges Throughout the River; DC Central Kitchen, Inc.; Dreaming Out Loud Inc.; Meals Analysis & Motion Middle DBA Maryland Starvation; FreshFarm*; Future Harvest Inc.; Holy Cross Hospital; Institute for Public Well being Innovation*; Martha’s Desk; and So, What Else, Inc; amongst a number of others.

Kimberly Harris, director of Group Well being and Social Influence at CareFirst and 2024-25 Chair for the American Diabetes Affiliation’s State of Diabetes, stated “CareFirst’s dedication to place-based options goals to create lasting well being enhancements by entry to nutritious meals and schooling.” 

“Addressing the foundation causes of diabetes requires a complete strategy that extends past scientific care to deal with the underlying social drivers of well being,” she continued. “Our funding shifts the main target from remedy to prevention, making certain everybody – no matter zip code – has entry to contemporary, wholesome meals and important well being assets.”