NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY) is launching an initiative to improve community health in underserved areas by partnering with Health eVillages, a program of the not-for-profit Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Aptus Health. The Health eVillages-Healthways Community Outreach Program will focus on improving the quality of and access to care in the most challenging clinical environments, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Healthways has a more than 30-year history of taking on difficult healthcare challenges, pioneering the disease management and well-being improvement sectors and supporting charitable causes from diabetes prevention and awareness to childhood obesity. The Health eVillages-Healthways collaboration will build on this foundation to address issues related to community health, including access to medical care and resources, preventive healthcare and support for the uninsured and underinsured.
“Access to quality, affordable healthcare and cutting edge medical resources continues to be a challenge in too many communities in the U.S. and in remote areas of the world,” said Donato Tramuto, chief executive officer, Healthways, and chairman and founder, Health eVillages. “Healthways is naturally aligned with Health eVillages in both our mission to create a healthier world and in our passion for social responsibility. I have seen firsthand the lives that have been changed by Health eVillages. Through this partnership, we have the opportunity to make an even greater impact by sharing Healthways’ resources and expertise.”
Health eVillages was founded in 2011 to meet healthcare information needs in remote and underserved areas by providing state-of-the-art mobile technology enabled with medical reference and clinical decision support resources. The organization has evolved to address broader healthcare challenges, including basic access to care, infant and maternal mortality, preventive healthcare and well-being improvement.
“At its core, Health eVillages is working in the most impoverished parts of the world to heal the villages by addressing fundamental issues that are contributing to poor health and increased mortality rates,” said Kerry Kennedy, president, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and member, Health eVillages Board of Directors. “Healthways’ commitment to treating the root cause of disease rather than just the symptoms, and addressing the overall health and well-being of every individual, makes them an ideal partner for Health eVillages.”
The first beneficiary of the Health eVillages-Healthways Community Outreach Program will be Mercy Community Healthcare, a non-profit organization that provides quality healthcare to the underserved and uninsured in more than 30 counties in Middle Tennessee. The program will provide much-needed assistance to Mercy to support its clinicians, caseworkers and administrative team in their efforts to meet the diverse needs of Mercy’s patients.
“At Mercy, we believe in treating the whole person, supporting not only their physical health needs, but also providing behavioral health services and patient education, and helping patients fill the gaps when they have unmet needs that impact their health,” said Cindy Siler, chief executive officer, Mercy Community Healthcare. “Our philosophy of care is so similar to that of Healthways and of Health eVillages – we are all committed to healing the villages in our own way. This relationship offers us significant opportunities to further expand and enhance our services for uninsured and underinsured individuals in our area.”
As part of the Health eVillages-Healthways Community Outreach Program, Healthways, in partnership with Gallup and Health eVillages, will release a special report on February 23, 2016, on the state of community health in the U.S. The report from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®, the largest dataset on well-being and community health in the world, will include unprecedented insights into factors that influence access to healthcare and overall community well-being.
About Healthways
Healthways is the largest independent global provider of well-being improvement solutions. Dedicated to creating a healthier world one person at a time, the Company uses the science of behavior change to produce and measure positive change in well-being for our customers, which include employers, integrated health systems, hospitals, physicians, health plans, communities and government entities. We provide highly specific and personalized support for each individual and their team of experts to optimize each participant’s health and productivity and to reduce health-related costs. Results are achieved by addressing longitudinal health risks and care needs of everyone in a given population. The Company has scaled its proprietary technology infrastructure and delivery capabilities developed over 30 years and now serves approximately 68 million people on four continents. Learn more at www.healthways.com.
About Health eVillages
Health eVillages, a program of the not-for-profit Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Aptus Health, provides state-of-the-art mobile health technology including medical reference and clinical decision-support resources to medical professionals in the most challenging clinical environments around the world. More information can be found at http://www.healthevillages.org/.