Highmark’s BluePrints for the Community $80,000 grant will assist communities in making health-related decisions

(WILMINGTON, Del. – August 3)

ChristianaCare has received an $80,000 grant from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Delaware to support the Health Literacy Council of Delaware.

Funded through Highmark’s BluePrints for the Community grant program, the money will be used to fund education and awareness for clinicians and other caregivers on best practices in making health care information much easier for patients to understand.

“Health literacy is essential to good health,” said Greg O’Neill, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, director of Patient & Family Health Education at ChristianaCare. “Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals are able to find, understand and use information and services to inform their health-related decisions and actions. At ChristianaCare we are committed to communicating with our patients in ways that enable them to understand so that they can make informed decisions and achieve their best health.

“We are deeply grateful that Highmark Health Options shares our commitment to health literacy. Their generous grant will enable us to support our caregivers in their efforts to deliver clear, consistent communication to every patient in every interaction, improving their lives.”

In addition to work within health care in Delaware through the Health Literacy Council, the grant also will be used by ChristianaCare to provide education in the community to support increased health literacy and enable people to make informed, healthy choices.

Housed by the Delaware Community Foundation, Highmark’s BluePrints for the Community has contributed over $35 million to the community since its inception in 2007. It was established to increase access to care and reduce health care disparities in Delaware.

In addition to ChristianaCare, the Health Literacy Council of Delaware is supported by the Delaware Division of Public Health and the University of Delaware’s Partnership for Healthy Communities.

“Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware and Highmark Health Options are actively engaged with statewide literacy improvement efforts and are pleased to support the Health Literacy Council  of Delaware,” said Nick Moriello, president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware. “By ensuring Delawareans have the tools and resources they need to understand their health information, while simultaneously making inclusive accommodations as health care organizations, we can promote better health decisions and ultimately improve health outcomes.”

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About ChristianaCare

Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ChristianaCare is one of the country’s most dynamic health care organizations, centered on improving health outcomes, making high-quality care more accessible and lowering health care costs. ChristianaCare includes an extensive network of primary care and outpatient services, home health care, urgent care centers, three hospitals (1,430 beds), a freestanding emergency department, a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care and women’s health. It also includes the pioneering Gene Editing Institute.

ChristianaCare is nationally recognized as a great place to work, rated by Forbes as the 2nd best health system for diversity and inclusion, and the 29th best health system to work for in the United States, and by IDG Computerworld as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work in IT. ChristianaCare is rated by Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals and continually ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and other national quality ratings. ChristianaCare is a nonprofit teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. With its groundbreaking Center for Virtual Health and a focus on population health and value-based care, ChristianaCare is shaping the future of health care.

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