Diabetes prevention program gets boost from grant to West Chester Community Volunteers in Medicine

West Chester >> The CVS Health Foundation – a private charitable organization created by CVS Health – in partnership with the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC) has awarded a $20,000 grant to the Community Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM), an organization in West Chester focusing on expanding patient access to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Diabetes Prevention Program and Diabetes Self-Management and Support Program. The clinic’s goal is to make a significant impact on the health of the community through education.

The CVS Health Foundation recently extended its commitment to the NAFC with $1 million in new grants. The West Chester clinic is one of 49 free clinics across the country receiving funding as part of the foundation’s ongoing effort to make quality health care convenient and affordable for more Americans.

“The support of the CVS Health Foundation is helping us address the growing needs of our uninsured patients with pre-diabetes and diabetes by providing them with education, lifestyle coaching and nutrition counseling to help them make long-term behavioral changes to live healthier, happier lives,” said Maureen Tomoschuk, Community Volunteers in Medicine, President and CEO.

According to the clinic, all CVIM patients are uninsured and make less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, so this grant will help make a positive impact on their lives by helping them manage their diabetes through education, counseling and support and encouraging them to make healthy lifestyle changes.

“The rising cost of health care can make finding quality and affordable care harder to come by for many Americans,” said Eileen Howard Boone, president of the CVS Health Foundation. “Through our support of the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, we’re able to increase access to quality care, improve chronic disease management and care coordination to help improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable patients and reduce health care costs in the communities we serve.”

To date, CVS Health and its Foundation have contributed more than $340,000 consisting of grants, event sponsorships, foundation scholarships, gift cards and product donations, among other initiatives and items, to nonprofits in the state of Pennsylvania that align with the company’s purpose of helping people on their path to better health.

The new funds bring the foundation’s total contribution to NAFC to more than $4.5 million since 2015. For more information on how the Free and Charitable Clinics will be utilizing their grants to improve community health, please visit www.cvshealth.com/NAFC.