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This new investment brings GE Foundation’s support of the work AmeriCares in the United States to nearly $3.5 million since 2010.
The funding will allow AmeriCares to expand its U.S. Medical Assistance Program, which provides donated medicines, vaccines and medical supplies to free clinics, community health centers and health departments nationwide. AmeriCares is the nation’s largest provider of donated medical aid to the U.S. health care safety net, last year delivering $70 million in prescription and over-the-counter medicines and medical supplies for patients in need.
AmeriCares has set a goal to increase its network of safety net partners from 635 to 750 by 2016, with an emphasis on adding more free clinics that – unlike federally qualified health centers – are not receiving federal funding through the Affordable Care Act, and are heavily dependent on volunteers, donated services and medical donations.
In addition to medical donations, AmeriCares supports partner clinics with tools and resources to deliver quality care. Funding from a previous GE Foundation grant enabled AmeriCares to build an online ordering system that has cut order processing time in half, as well as launch Safetynetcenter.org, an information sharing portal with how-to guides and educational materials. Going forward, AmeriCares will use a portion of the new GE Foundation funding to survey free clinics nationwide about the impact of health care reform, as well as introduce new programs for free clinic patients diagnosed with depression and pre-diabetes.
The GE Foundation supports AmeriCares domestic work as part of its Developing Health Program. GE Foundation created Developing Health in 2009 to help increase access to primary care for underserved populations, by fostering partnerships with independent, non-profit community health centers.
The GE Foundation is the philanthropic organization of GE. It works to solve some of the world's most difficult problems, focusing its efforts in the areas of health, education, the environment and disaster relief.
For more information on Americares, visit americares.org. For more information on the GE Foundation, visit www.gefoundation.com.
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