CareFirst Commitment Closing the Gaps


	Ongoing Programs Hair, Heart & Health Initiative La Clínica del Pueblo Diabetes Initiative Boat People SOS Cervical Cancer Initiative

The communities served by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield are more diverse than ever. Hispanics represent the fastest growing minority group in CareFirst's Mid-Atlantic service area and African American, Asian and other populations are creating new challenges for health care providers.

Lack of health care insurance, language barriers, and variations in cultural norms mean that too many of the region's residents don't always receive the appropriate care to identify and treat illness. CareFirst's Closing the Gaps initiative is built around partnerships with organizations that understand the specific needs of their community. CareFirst ihas already launched two initiatives to combat:

Diabetes in Latinos
Cervical Cancer in Asian women
Heart Disease in African Americans

In addition, CareFirst is taking steps to make more health care information available for individuals for whom English is not the primary language. The recently launched www.carefirst.com/salud provides a wealth of health and wellness information in Spanish. These efforts will continue, as will CareFirst's corporate giving support for not-for-profit organizations working to eliminate health care disparities.