CVS' Project Health to deliver more than $21M worth of preventive health screenings
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy announced on Wednesday the launch of Project Health (Proyecto Salud in Spanish), a wellness program delivering more than $21 million worth of free health screenings to multicultural communities.
The program, which aims to prevent disease through early detection, grew from CVS/pharmacy's To Your Health/A Su Salud campaigns. This year, Project Health will offer an array of free comprehensive health risk assessments and screenings during five disease-specific national health awareness months, from American Heart Month (February) to Diabetes Awareness Month (November). More than 1,000 Project Health events are scheduled for 2012 in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Events are also planned at CVS/pharmacy locations in Puerto Rico.
"We know that for a variety of reasons multicultural populations have difficulty accessing and benefitting from preventive care," saidTroyen Brennan, EVP and chief medical officer at CVS Caremark. "Making this issue even more disconcerting, these same patients disproportionately suffer from certain treatable conditions, like high blood pressure and diabetes. Through Project Health, CVS/pharmacy will work to achieve better health outcomes among multicultural populations and is once again making the commitment to helping people on their path to better health."
Project Health is a part of efforts by CVS/pharmacy to improve access to preventive care and ensure that cost is not a barrier to important services, such as professional health assessments and screenings. Project Health events, while offered to address and raise awareness of ethnic health disparities, are open to everyone and will not require an appointment.
Medical personnel will be on hand to provide diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol and osteoporosis screenings and examine patients for oral care issues. Referrals for mammograms and pap smears also will be provided, as well as consultations with nurse practitioners and CVS pharmacists. A selection of screenings will be available at each event.
Once screened, CVS/pharmacy will help patients through on-site consultations with bilingual (Spanish/English) nurse practitioners who will analyze the results and refer patients to no-cost or low-cost medical facilities within that neighborhood or to their primary care physician should additional follow-up be required.
In 2011, CVS/pharmacy provided free and low-cost medical screenings and services valued at $150 per person through the To Your Health/A Su Salud programs. More than 162,000 people were screened during last year's events. Of the individuals screened, many health concerns were discovered, including:
57% had at least one abnormal screening result;
48% had at least one abnormal risk factor for heart disease;
42% had risk factors for osteoporosis; and
27% had abnormal glucose readings.
The Project Health events will be held at designated CVS/pharmacy locations on weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. daily with no appointment necessary during American Heart Month (February), National Minority Health Month (April), Immunization Awareness Month (August), Dental Hygiene Awareness Month (October) and Diabetes Awareness Month (November).
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