What You Should Know:
– CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) announced a collaboration with Uber Health, Uber’s healthcare arm, to provide free transportation through a new Health Zones initiative to people who need it most when seeking access to medical care, work, or educational programs.
– CVS Health and Uber Health will help eliminate a critical barrier to care and overall well-being transportation which can limit a person’s ability to receive medical care, to get to work or to job training and can ultimately lead to adverse health outcomes.
CVS Health’s New Initiative HealthZones
The collaboration is part of Health Zones, CVS Health’s new initiative that provides concentrated local investments designed to reduce health disparities and advance health equity in high-risk communities across the country. Health Zones is an integrated approach to addressing six key social determinants of health: housing, education, access to food, labor, transportation, and health care access.
The Health Zones initiative is now active in five markets nationwide: Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Fresno, CA; Hartford, CT; and Phoenix, AZ with plans to expand into more cities later this year. Working with trusted national and local partners, CVS Health is addressing community health care needs, ensuring at-risk communities have access to resources and opportunities that can help them thrive. Rides with Uber Health will be available to a target population living in three of the five Health Zones: Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; and Hartford, CT with plans to enter additional cities later this year.
Improving Population Health Management
For Uber Health, the relationship with CVS Health is a natural extension of its broader commitment to improving population healthcare management, so more people can achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles. Its HIPAA-supported solution is utilized by more than 2,000 health care organizations across the U.S.
“Our Health Zones initiative allows us to make a real impact on the health of communities across the country by working closely with organizations that share our commitment to addressing social determinants of health,” said Eileen Howard Boone, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility & Philanthropy and Chief Sustainability Officer, CVS Health. “With the Uber Health platform, we’ll provide critical transportation to people within communities who need it most, giving them access to health care services so they can live healthier lives and to jobs and educational programs that can help them reach their full potential.”
