As part of our continued commitment to providing affordable health care for all Americans, Project Health, CVS Pharmacy’s annual free health screening campaign is now underway. Through December 17, 2017, Project Health wellness events will deliver more than $5 million worth of free health services in select CVS Pharmacy locations in multicultural communities across the United States.
"Project Health is part of CVS Health's commitment to improve access to health care and ensure that cost isn't a barrier to important preventive services," said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. "Our free health screenings can help identify health concerns or risk factors for participants who may not have access to care otherwise."
The Project Health process
Project Health offers an array of free comprehensive health assessment screenings, including blood pressure, Body Mass Index (BMI), glucose and total cholesterol screenings, which can help detect risk for chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Today, 1 in 2 Americans has at least one chronic illness with 85 percent of our health care dollars spent each year caring for Americans with these diseases.Centers for Disease Control. Chronic Disease Overview. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/overview/
“These chronic conditions, which can often be life-threatening, can be treated very effectively when identified early, helping to improve a patient’s health and well-being, as well as reducing costs for both the patient and the overall health care delivery system,” added Brennan.
Once screened, patients have access to on-site consultations with bilingual nurse practitioners or physician assistants who will analyze results and refer patients who require additional medical care and follow up to no-cost or low-cost medical facilities nearby or to their primary care physician.
How Project Health is helping
Since it was established in 2006, Project Health has delivered more than $117 million in free health care services to more than 887,000 people, many of whom lack access to preventive care. In 2016, high rates of specific treatable conditions among Project Health participants were detected, including:
- 49 percent were found to be overweight or obese
- 39 percent had abnormal blood pressure readings
- 31 percent had abnormal glucose readings
- 38 percent were found to have abnormal cholesterol levels
Project Health events will take place across 10 multicultural communities that have a large number of uninsured or underinsured Americans, including:
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- HoustonGiven the catastrophic flooding and ongoing recovery efforts in Houston, all Project Health events in the area are being postponed. CVS Health is committed to rescheduling these free health and wellness events to the residents of Houston when it is safe to do so and when the community will have greater access to these much-needed services.
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York City
- Philadelphia
- Washington, D.C.
- Puerto Rico
For a full calendar of Project Health events, visit www.cvs.com/projecthealth (in Spanish: www.cvs.com/proyectosalud).