News Releases
CareFirst to Present Check in Support of Wellmobile Program
January 25, 2012
Media Advisory
| WHAT: | CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to Present Check in Support of Governor’s Wellmobile Program |
| WHEN: | Monday, January 30, 11 a.m. |
| WHERE: | University of Maryland School of Nursing 655 W. Lombard Street – Second Floor Lobby Baltimore, MD 21201 |
Wellmobile tours immediately following event.
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield will present a check for $955,276 to the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) to fund a three-year grant in support of the Governor’s Wellmobile Program. The grant will fund a new model of nurse-managed primary care and enhanced care management for underserved and uninsured populations across three rural upper Eastern Shore counties: Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot. Through partnerships and collaborations with health care systems, the goal of this model is to reduce unnecessary re-hospitalizations and emergency department utilization by filling the gap in the existing health care system infrastructure.
The Governor’s Wellmobile Program is a fleet of traveling health clinics that have served Maryland’s Western, Central, and Eastern Shore regions since 1994. The Wellmobile vans are fully equipped to provide primary health care services, disease prevention, and referral services to uninsured and underinsured Marylanders, using a nurse-managed family nurse practitioner model. The Wellmobiles also serve as clinical learning sites for UMSON undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students.
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In its 75th year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health care company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to 3.4 million individuals and groups in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. In 2011, CareFirst contributed $51 million to community programs designed to increase the accessibility, affordability, safety and quality of health care throughout its market areas.
The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools, and is ranked eleventh nationally. Enrolling more than 1,600 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment