CVS Health increases investment in Ohio communities

9/25/2018
CVS Health announced a series of community investments to improve the health and wellness of local communities in Ohio. More than $150,000 in new grants will help support Ohio nonprofits helping to mitigate prescription drug abuse and expand access to quality, convenient and affordable care across the state.

"We are committed to making meaningful investments in the communities we serve to support our colleagues and customers," CVS Health senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy Eileen Howard Boone said, in a statement. "The organizations we are partnering with are helping us deliver on our purpose of helping people on their path to better health and are truly dedicated to helping those who need it the most."

The new grants include the following:

Neighborhood Family Practice in Cleveland has received a $50,000 grant to support the training and implementation of motivational interviewing for primary care providers, nurses and behavioral health clinicians to use as a coaching method for patients dealing with substance abuse. The new support will be used to conduct motivational interviewing training and to ensure appropriate use of this method across the health center.

A $50,000 grant will be used by Rocking Horse Children's Health Center in Springfield to develop the SAFE (Substance Abuse and Family Education) program, which will identify and provide support and psych education to individuals, children and families at the community health center and the surrounding areas who are impacted by the opioid crisis and other drug related issues.

CVS Health will be providing a total of $50,000 to four clinics that are part of the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics to support the clinics' ability to have medication available to their patients in medically underserved areas of the community. The clinics are Viola Startzman Clinic in Wooster, Open M Medical Clinic in Akron, St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy in Cincinnati and Beacon Charitable Pharmacy in Canton.

"This effort, along with others, is a priority locally and in the state legislature," State Senator Bob Hackett said, in a statement. "We must continue to work hard to combat the opioid crisis facing our state and provide resources in our communities that will help people on the road to recovery get their lives back."

In addition, CVS Health is supporting the Well Being Collaborative of Northeast Ohio's annual Wellness Conference, where CVS pharmacists will talk about the importance of safe medication disposal and the dangers of prescription drug abuse. Participation in the conference is part of CVS Health's Pharmacist Teach program, which brings pharmacists to local schools and community events to help educate teens and parents on the growing epidemic. More than 300,000 teens nationally including nearly 14,000 in Ohio have already participated in the program.

Through its employee volunteer program, CVS Health colleagues logged more than 3,000 volunteer hours last year in Ohio in support of local community causes throughout the state. Additionally, over the past three years, CVS Health has contributed more than $600,000 to local community organizations in Ohio through the CVS Health Foundation, corporate grants, sponsorships and product donations, lending its support to programs that improve access to health care; provide chronic disease management; promote smoking cessation and youth tobacco prevention; and help combat prescription drug abuse.
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