Excellus spends $150K on community health efforts
Six community health organizations will share in $150,000 from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield as it renewed partnerships with the groups, the insurer announced Thursday.
The grants will help support programs such as lifestyle change, management of chronic disease and medication adherence.
About 40 percent of upstate adults with a chronic condition reported not taking their medications as prescribed, according to a study released by Excellus earlier in the week. That translates into hundreds of thousands of individuals not following the instructions on medication, according to Excellus.
The survey was conducted by an independent firm and looked at adults in all counties served by Excellus who take medication for five common chronic conditions; high blood pressure, asthma, high cholesterol, diabetes and depression.
It also surveyed adults who had been prescribed an antibiotic within the past six months and reported that 20 percent did not take the medication as directed. Completing a course of antibiotics as prescribed is seen by health experts as crucial to preventing the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
According the survey, 50 percent of Rochester-area respondents said they didn't take their medication either because they forgot or they didn't have it on hand. Side effects, effectiveness and cost of the medication — in that order — were other factors.
Some of the grants address non-adherence directly and others may have an indirect role.
The renewals are:
• $40,000 to Action for a Better Community's medication adherence program. The primary focus is on families and staff serving children enrolled in its Head Start program with a secondary focus on members of the community.
• $40,000 to the Ibero American Action League's Latino diabetes and hypertension management program, which focuses on culturally appropriate ways Latinos can reduce risk factors for chronic diseases. The program is taught in Spanish and offers healthier ways to prepare Latino foods.
• $33,000 to the Church of Love Faith Center's lifestyle change program, which includes weekly workouts and workshops on healthy eating.
• $30,000 to the Mental Health Association for the Prime Time Sister Circles program, an interactive support group that motivates African-American women between the ages of 40 and 75 to make health their first priority.
• $10,000 to PathStone, which operates multiple housing facilities in the Rochester region. The program offers onsite support for residents who want help managing chronic diseases. Residents can join group exercise classes and attend nutrition and medication adherence workshops.
• A contract extension for Trillium Health, which will use $40,000 allocated in 2014 to continue a nutrition, activity and medication adherence to help participants better manage chronic diabetes and/or heart disease.
PSINGER@DemocratandChronicle.com