Patient Navigator Program will help reduce barriers to care, improve health equity for families throughout West Virginia supported by $300,000 UniCare donation
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Medicine Children’s received a $300,000 grant from UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia to help launch the WVU Medicine Children’s Patient Navigator Program to boost health literacy in West Virginia by educating and empowering Mountain State families.
The Patient Navigator Program at WVU Medicine Children’s aims to address healthcare disparities by working with families to provide health literacy resources. Patient navigators offer guidance and support to help families access services, work with providers, and manage various aspects of caring for their children.
UniCare officials joined WVU Medicine Children’s Chief Administrative Officer Amy L. Bush, B.S.N., M.B.A., R.N., C.N.O.R., for a tour and check presentation Wednesday, Oct. 12.
“We are so incredibly grateful for this generous grant from UniCare,” Bush said. “UniCare’s investment will help our team of expert healthcare providers build strong partnerships with West Virginia families to advocate for the medical, educational, and social well-being of the next generation.”
UniCare — a benefits partner for West Virginia Children’s Health Insurance Program and West Virginia Medicaid participants — strives to improve health by addressing inequities and strengthening communities.
“We are proud to support WVU Medicine Children’s in its work to provide critically important health literacy resources to families across West Virginia so that they can comfortably understand, find, and utilize health resources and information,” Tadd Haynes, president, UniCare, said. “This latest investment from UniCare is emblematic of our ongoing commitment to the whole health of the communities we serve so that we can make lasting, positive change in the state.”
The Patient Navigator Program reflects expanded services available to provide hope and healing for families at the new nine-story, 150-bed WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital. The facility, adjacent to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital on the WVU Medicine campus in Morgantown, welcomed its first patients Sept. 29.
For more information about WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, visit WVUKids.com.
The grant from UniCare was made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University and its affiliated entities.
About UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc.
UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc., serves more than 195,000 Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries living in West Virginia. UniCare has served Medicaid beneficiaries in West Virginia since 2003 and WVCHIP members in 2021. For more information about UniCare, visit UniCare.com/WV and follow the company on Facebook @UniCareWV and Twitter @UniCareWV.