MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Medicine has partnered with findhelp, America’s leading social care network, to help address social determinants of health, or barriers, that affect patient health, such as transportation, food, and shelter. 
The findhelp network features more than 605,700 distinct program locations in all 50 U.S. states, territories, and Puerto Rico, powering social care systems for hundreds of customers nationwide.
By conducting an anonymous search by zip code, users can connect to food pantries, transportation, housing, paying bills, and other free or reduced-cost help.
More than 400 of the largest health plans, hospital systems, government municipalities, educational institutions, and cause organizations trust findhelp’s network to address social determinants of health. Its configurable platform enables customers across industries to bring social care to their patients, members, students, constituents, and communities.
Findhelp partners with care management and electronic health record systems to integrate social care into customers’ existing workflows, making it easy to refer people to local resources and programs, track outcomes, and measure need.
The partnership between WVU Medicine and findhelp is supported in part by a $50,000 grant from the Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health, an extension of the Highmark Foundation established to specifically address and improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for individuals who live in West Virginia.
Findhelp will be available to WVU Medicine patients through MyWVUChart, the online patient portal. Findhelp will appear under the Resources tab in the MyWVUChart menu. Patients will be able to search findhelp anonymously for whatever assistance they may need. For those who do not use MyWVUChart, help can also be found by visiting Resources.WVUMedicine.org.
“The chronic diseases that most plague West Virginians, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease, can all be negatively impacted by socioeconomic factors,” Chris McCormick, WVU Medicine Population Health director, said. “If we can help connect our patients to things like shelter, transportation to medical appointments, and food, we can help them better manage their chronic conditions and live fuller, healthier lives.”