Grant designed to develop framework for adoption nationwide 

INDIANAPOLIS -- WellPoint Foundation, LLC, a private, non-profit organization wholly funded by WellPoint, Inc., today announced that it has awarded a $95,000 grant to the National Partnership for Women & Families (National Partnership). The grant is designed to support the National Partnership's research and development of materials to educate consumers about a patient-centered medical home, as well as engage consumers in thinking about and expressing what they need in a medical home. 

The patient-centered medical home changes the way health care is delivered, creating an environment where physicians focus on the health of the whole-person throughout all stages of life, including acute care, chronic care and preventive services. A medical home is intended to create a collaborative partnership between the patient and the personal physician. Patients have accessible, continuous and coordinated care across all settings (inpatient, outpatient etc.) and providers in the health care system. 

The National Partnership will develop and design consumer-focused materials that define the key elements of a patient-centered medical home and highlight how using a medical home can improve the coordination and quality of care for patients, especially for those dealing with multiple chronic conditions. 

"Individuals who receive coordinated patient centered care with a focus on preventive services, health improvement, and an informed collaborative partnership with their physicians, can more effectively manage their health care needs compared to those who seek episodic and illness-oriented services from multiple physicians or an emergency room," said Dr. Sam Nussbaum, chief medical officer, WellPoint, Inc. "We support the medical home concept and the important work being done by the National Partnership for Women & Families." 

The funding provided by the WellPoint Foundation grant will help the National Partnership conduct an environmental scan of publicly available, consumer-oriented materials talking about medical homes to identify information gaps; survey the national landscape to assess the elements necessary to making the medical home truly patient-centered; and develop and implement a consumer advocacy program. 

About the WellPoint Foundation  

The WellPoint Foundation, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization wholly funded by WellPoint, Inc. Through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes WellPoint's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that WellPoint's affiliate health plans serve. With combined assets of $200 million, the Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to reduce the number of uninsured as well as organizations that promote the Healthy Generations Program, a multi- generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org.