UnitedHealthcare Awards $1 Million Grant to Jordan Valley Community Health Center to Expand Use of Community Health Workers

• Grant is part of UnitedHealthcare’s Empowering Health program, which is redefining access to care by investing in social and environmental factors that influence people’s health

UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, has awarded a $1 million grant to Jordan Valley Community Health Center (JVCHC) to help the nonprofit expand its community health worker program. Last year, UnitedHealthcare provided $1.5 million to JVCHC, which enabled the health care center to reach over 10,000 patients by adding 15 new community health workers and expanding services.

The community health workers connect Missourians in need to critical resources such as food, housing and transportation, and provide one-on-one health screenings and preventive-care services. The team also helps individuals and families apply for and use health benefits, schedule doctor appointments, manage medications, and provide personal support to set and reach goals that can improve their long-term health.

“We are very grateful to have received this additional grant from UnitedHealthcare to grow our community health worker program and offer needed services to more people in our community,” said Brooks Miller, CEO of Jordan Valley Community Health Center. “The personal connection our community health workers have with the people they serve establishes a caring and trusting environment at Jordan Valley Community Health Center. This grant enables us to build on that foundation and continue improving our community’s health through access and relationships.”

The grant was made possible through UnitedHealthcare’s Empowering Health program, a national initiative to improve the health of underserved people in local communities through greater investments in social-support programs. Nearly 80 percent1 of what influences a person’s health relates to nonmedical issues. Yet the health care system today directs much of its resources to treating illnesses rather than addressing these underlying social needs – which ultimately creates the need for more medical care.

“We believe health care must expand beyond clinical care and treat the whole person by addressing each individual’s unique social needs, such as food security, access to transportation, and safe and affordable housing,” said Jamie Bruce, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Missouri. “Empowering Health will accelerate the work and resources necessary to improve the health of many people in this area, especially those with complex health and social service needs.”

About Jordan Valley Community Health CenterJordan Valley Community Health Center is a federally qualified health center in Southwest Missouri, with a mission to improving the community’s health through access and relationships, committed to providing quality medical, dental, vision and behavioral health services at nine clinic locations.

About UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

1Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings Model, 2014.

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Garrett KasperUnitedHealthcare(314) [e-mail]

Michael EatonJordan Valley Community Health Center(417) [e-mail]