NEW BEDFORD The Greater New Bedford Community Health Center will introduce a bilingual benefits enrollment specialist credited to a $45,000 grant by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation. This is critical to help uninsured patients get coverage that gives them access to primary care and other health services both here at GNBCHC as well as SouthCoast and other health providers, said CEO Cheryl Bartlett in a statement.
According to a BCBS press release, GNBCHC is one of 64 community-based programs that received a total of $3 million in grants. This benefitted organizations that promote sustainable improvements in health care access for low-income and uninsured residents in the state. The Foundation has granted more than $73 million in total over the past two decades.
Health care workers faced one of the most pivotal points in their careers this year, and although vaccines have arrived on the SouthCoast, the battle is still not over. I don t think any of us woke up on Jan. 1, 2020, thinking we would be faced with a once-in-a-century pandemic that would change everything, said President Keith Hovan of Southcoast Health.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 caused the nation to shut down, resulting in unemployment, shortages, illness and death. Hospitals were overflowing with sick patients and field hospitals were required to accommodate the rising number of cases. Personal protection equipment (PPE) was sparse but needed everywhere, especially in health care facilities.
Collaboration, flexibility and technology were key to survival this year, according to six nonprofit leaders from the SouthCoast. Though most of them miss the human element of hugs and in-person events, they say certain tools and lessons born of necessity are here to stay.
Technology becomes a tool to increase reach
Before COVID-19, the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center never provided care virtually, known as telehealth or telemedicine, said CEO Cheryl Bartlett. Now, she said care is about split between in-person and virtual visits.
The United Way of Greater New Bedford was forced to hold its largest fundraising event virtually this spring, but due to its success, Victoria Grasela, the vice president of marketing, said they want to include virtual elements for all future fundraisers.
My Brother s Keeper receives Southcoast Health holiday drive donation
Standard-Times
DARTMOUTH While a box truck and delivery team may not make quite the same kind of entrance as a sleigh and reindeer, My Brother’s Keeper still warmly welcomed the arrival of Southcoast Health’s gifts for area families this past week.
A holiday collection of donations, which had been placed in bins at Southcoast’s Charlton Memorial, St. Luke’s and Tobey hospitals, along with its Fairhaven campus, was transported to the My Brother’s Keeper facility in Dartmouth. From skateboards to cookware, comforter sets to clothing, and video games to craft sets, hundreds of new gifts were contributed by Southcoast Health employees, providers and staff, which benefited more than 50 families, according to a press release.