Diversity

• Commitment
• Company
• People
• Community
• Marketplace
• Supplier Diversity

Community

• Strategic partnerships
• Philanthropy and volunteerism
• Programs, grants and research

Strategic partnerships

BCBSM has a unique social mission to serve the needs of Michigan residents by addressing health care access, quality and the health of the community.

We partner with independent community organizations to help build healthier communities through health awareness, information and education. From physical activity to wellness to obesity prevention, we focus on promoting healthy lifestyles for Michigan residents. We are proud of the role we play.

Because of disparities that exist in health care, improving the health of our diverse communities is especially important. The following is a list of some of our independent community partners:

• Wayne State University and the Michigan Fitness Foundation (Building Healthy Communities) — Partnership to expand BCBSM's effort to address childhood obesity in elementary schools.
• NAACP — Encourages healthy lifestyles in the African-American community
• American Cancer Society (Body & Soul BLUE) — Promotes physical activity and good nutrition in African-American faith-based communities
• 100 Black Men of Greater Detroit (Man Up! Let's Talk Health) — Focuses on disease prevention and prostate health, and encourages regular primary care visits
• Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and Grand Rapids Public Schools (FIT) — A comprehensive, collaborative initiative in four elementary schools and surrounding African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods designed to create a social culture that embraces a healthy lifestyle
• Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (Let's Get Moving Kewadin Community Wellness Challenge) — Increases physical activity in areas where tribal members live and work
• Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services — Focuses on health education and wellness in the Arab-American community
• Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce — Promotes health and wellness in the Chaldean community

Philanthropy and volunteerism

Every community has unique needs and challenges, and in every community generous individuals and organizations respond. Targeting youth, seniors and diverse markets, we provide support for programs that improve access and physical activity, and promote obesity prevention and wellness.

BCBSM is deeply committed to making financial contributions to independent 501(c)(3) organizations that support our mission of creating healthy communities for Michigan residents. Our investments in the community do not stop there. We're proud of our employees' generosity. Through employee volunteer efforts such as United Way, Meals on Wheels, Big Brothers, Big Sisters Bowl for Kids' Sake, Alzheimer's walks and many other activities, we volunteer more than 45,000 hours at events and with nonprofit agencies.

Programs, grants and research

BCBSM, the BCBSM Foundation and the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation have implemented programs or funded research with independent entities to increase access to health care or improve the health of all Michigan residents.

Programs:

• Body & Soul BLUE: A partnership with the American Cancer Society that addresses hypertension and obesity in African-American communities, and promotes healthy lifestyles.
• Man Up! Let's Talk Health: This partnership focuses on prostate health and health disparities among African-American men.
• Upper Peninsula Diabetes Outreach Network: This network addresses diabetes in the Native American communities in Northern Michigan.
• BCBSM co-sponsor of “Together We Can Heal: A Journey to Eliminating Healthcare Disparities”: This conference featured speakers and patient-empowerment workshops and toolkits.
• Healthy Black Elders: A year-long outreach program in partnership with Wayne State University (Detroit) to address a variety of health disparities among African-Americans.
• Michigan Medicare Quality Improvement Organization: BCBSM partnered with this group to educate primary care physicians on cultural competency.
• BCBSM's (Grand Rapids) Community Advisory Council: This council hosted and organized panel discussions addressing infant mortality found primarily in the western part of the state.
• Matrix Human Services: The organization piloted a program to improve physical activity and healthy eating among preschool children at two Southwest Detroit Vistas Nuevas Head Start locations.
• FIT: BCBSM partnered with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and Grand Rapids Public Schools to develop programs that address healthy lifestyles among schools with a high percentage of Hispanic and African-American students.
• Elementary schools: In an effort to improve physical activity levels and knowledge of nutritious eating among children, Blue Cross has awarded nearly $3.4 million in Building Healthy Communities and related grant funding to combat childhood obesity since 2004.
• Free Clinics: Since 2005, BCBSM has awarded $6 million in grants to free clinics throughout Michigan to help clinics provide health care services to the uninsured and underinsured.
• BCBSM's Patient-Centered Medical Home: PCMH is a partnership between the patient and the doctor. BCBSM uses selection criteria that give special consideration to high poverty and medical service shortage areas in urban and rural regions to ensure everyone has access to quality primary health care services.

The BCBSM Foundation has funded the following projects:

• Covenant Community Care: To expand health care services for a low-income population in Southwest Detroit.
• Northern Michigan Regional Hospital: Program to reduce the risk of diet-related diseases among Odawa Native Americans.
• University of Michigan College of Nursing: Research project evaluating intervention for hypertension among African-Americans.
• Wayne State University College of Medicine: Program to encourage physicians to practice in rural environments.
• University of Michigan College of Medicine: Program to encourage physicians to practice in urban environments.
• University of Michigan School of Public Health: Study to analyze diversity management practices in Southeast Michigan hospitals.
• University of Detroit Mercy: A study on the long-term effectiveness of a lifestyle change program for underserved obese African-American women.
• Western Michigan University: A pilot diabetes education and support program among underserved African-Americans and Latinos residing in Southwest Michigan.
• International Association for Organ Donation: Program to increase awareness of organ donation in the African-American community.
• Adult Well Being Services: Approved a match grant for potential Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funding to implement integrated health care into the lives of Detroit adults with severe mental illness living in adult foster care homes.
• Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services: To provide mental health care to minority at-risk youth.
• University of Michigan: To investigate racial bias in physician-patient communication in relation to the treatment of pain.
• Michigan Department of Community Health: To support prostate cancer researchers in Michigan.
• Michigan State University: To improve cardiovascular care for minority and low income populations in the outpatient clinical setting.
• Detroit Community Health Connection: A grant to support a school-linked health center providing access to Detroit's youth.

Research:

• The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation, a nonprofit partnership between the University of Michigan and BCBSM, funds a project called Disparities in Diabetes Care, which uses interactive voice response technology to automatically link Hispanic patients, their informal caregivers and their health care team in structured assessments and information exchange.
• CHRT also funds health policy research on strategies that safety net clinics (free clinics, independent community health centers and federally qualified health centers) use to assure sustainability and maximize impact.