OGDEN, Utah – The Regence Foundation today awarded a $20,000 grant to Midtown Community Health Center to ensure patients have access to the medications they are prescribed.
 
Midtown estimates that last year approximately 10 percent of prescriptions written for patients went unfilled because of financial, language, medical literacy and transportation barriers. Regence employee Stacey Walton nominated the center as part of Regence’s third annual employee-nominated Transformation Grant program.
 
“Patients, especially those with chronic diseases, who don’t take their medications as prescribed, risk aggravating their health conditions and increasing their health care costs long term,” said Walton. “With The Regence Foundation Transformation grant, Midtown will be able to help people get access to the care they need and fill a critical gap in our community.”  
 
Midtown Community Health Center serves more than 26,000 patients annually in the Ogden area, and its mission is to provide health care for community residents facing economic, geographic, and cultural and language barriers to health care access. Last year. Midtown filled nearly 37,000 prescriptions at its onsite pharmacy. With The Regence Foundation grant, Midtown will be able to follow up with patients who are not filling their prescriptions and help them overcome any barriers they are facing.
 
“Our mission is to fund collaborative and innovative health programs making a positive impact in the community,” said Michael Alexander, Regence Foundation board chair. “We applaud Midtown Community Health Center for its work to improve access to care for underserved communities in the Ogden area.”
 
About The Regence Foundation
The Regence Foundation is the corporate foundation of Regence, the largest health insurer in the Northwest/Intermountain region and a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. A 501(c)3 grantmaking organization, the Foundation partners with organizations driving significant change in health care delivery and accessibility in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Through its Sojourns program, the Foundation also supports organizations advancing quality palliative and end-of-life care. For more information visit www.RegenceFoundation.org or www.twitter.com/RegenceGives.