UnitedHealthcare Donates $1 Million to Nonprofits in New York

UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, is awarding $1 million in Empowering Health grants to six community-based organizations in New York state to expand access to care and address the social determinants of health for uninsured individuals and underserved communities.

In total, UnitedHealthcare is donating $11 million in grants through its Empowering Health program across 11 states. The grants will assist individuals and families experiencing challenges from food insecurity, social isolation and behavioral health issues, and support local health promotion and health literacy efforts.

Grant recipients in New York state include:

• Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City – $300,000 to hire a mental health professional for a pediatric practice to implement the Primary Care Behavioral Health Model of integrated care for its high-need patients from across the city, the majority of whom are served by Medicaid, and to train pediatric residents to address common behavioral and mental health problems.
• Partnership with Children, New York City – $275,000 to launch a workshop to infuse the healing power of the arts, including trauma-informed arts programming, in 11 school-based mental health programs citywide.
• InterFaith Works of Central New York, Syracuse – $215,000 to support the One to One Program, which matches residents in long-term care with volunteers to build social connection through weekly visits, social events, music and memory programming, and intergenerational programs and events.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Buffalo – $115,000 to expand Healthy Eating Habits summer programming across club sites to educate youth about nutrition, provide hands-on activities and introduce new and culturally diverse products.
• Resource Council of WNY, Buffalo – $65,000 to establish the R-Kids Cupboard children’s food pantry and create a demonstration kitchen offering healthy cooking classes for the community.
• Buffalo State College Foundation, Buffalo – $30,000 to purchase a freezer for Milligan’s Food Pantry for students and hire a graduate student to expand health education programming, department collaborations, marketing initiatives and hours of service.

“Social and economic factors have a profound impact on achieving and maintaining good health,” said Michael McGuire, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of New York. “Through our Empowering Health grants and local outreach efforts from UnitedHealthcare, we’re working with local organizations in the state to provide New Yorkers with an interconnected system of clinical and social services that can produce better health outcomes and make the health system work better for everyone.”