United Health Foundation Donates $750,000 to Support Pennsylvania’s Home Care, Home Health & Hospice Workers Amid COVID-19 ...
13 May 2020 - 11:00PM
Business Wire
Funding will provide personal protective
equipment and support for Pennsylvania Homecare Association’s
nearly 700 member organizations and other home-based providers
across the state
The United Health Foundation has donated $750,000 to provide
personal protective equipment (PPE) and support for frontline
health care workers fighting COVID-19 and the vulnerable
populations they serve in Pennsylvania. The funding will support
the Pennsylvania Homecare Association’s Pennsylvania Foundation for
Home Care and Hospice, a nonprofit organization that funds
training, education and scholarship opportunities for the home
health, hospice and home care workforce. The grant is part of
UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) nearly $75 million commitment to
fight COVID-19 and support impacted communities.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges for
home care, home health and hospice providers, and the individuals
they care for,” said Michel Lentz, executive director, Medicare
& Retirement for Pennsylvania and Delaware, UnitedHealthcare.
“Our partnership with the Pennsylvania Homecare Association will
help ensure these critical health care workers have the protection
and support they need to provide essential care during these
challenging times.”
The $750,000 donation will help with the purchase and
distribution of PPE throughout Pennsylvania, with an initial focus
on counties and regions with the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases.
Funds will also support development of an online training program
for direct care workers related to providing care and best
practices during the pandemic.
“Lack of PPE has been a major challenge faced by home-based care
providers and their direct care workers. A recent survey of our
members showed that more than half were in great need of PPE to
protect themselves and their patients in responding to the COVID-19
public health emergency,” said Teri Henning, chief executive
officer, Pennsylvania Homecare Association. “The United Health
Foundation’s donation is so appreciated and will help providers and
direct care workers ensure that high-quality, home-based care
continues to be delivered across Pennsylvania.”
To date, UnitedHealth Group has committed nearly $75 million to
fight COVID-19 and support impacted communities, including health
care workers, hard-hit states and localities, seniors, and those
experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. The company has also
taken several actions to ensure customers, consumers and employees
have the support they need during the COVID-19 pandemic,
including:
- Waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing and treatment.
- Providing more than $1.5 billion of support for customers in
the form of credits and waived cost-sharing for health care.
- Accelerating nearly $2 billion to health care providers to
support liquidity needs.
- Significantly expanding access to telehealth and redeploying
10,000 Optum clinicians to expand telehealth capabilities.
- Converting company cafeterias to provide more than 75,000 meals
a week for people in need and keeping our cafe team at work.
- Pioneering a noninvasive, self-administered COVID-19 test that
streamlines testing, reduces PPE usage and increases safety of
health care workers.
- Simplifying access to care by reducing prior authorization
requirements.
- Providing a special enrollment period for fully insured
customers to allow employees who did not opt in for coverage during
the regular enrollment period to get coverage.
- Launching a free nationwide emotional support line to manage
the stress and anxiety caused by COVID-19.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care
company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and
helping to make the health system work better for everyone.
UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services
through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides
health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which
provides information and technology-enabled health services. For
more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at
www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on
Twitter.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200513005149/en/
Brad Alexander, UnitedHealthcare (804) 267-5320
brad_alexander@uhc.com
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