Community Nurse Receives Dental Grant from CVS Caremark!

La Grange, IL –March 7, 2013 – Community Nurse Health Center announced today that it has received a $1,500 CVS Caremark Community Grant.  The Community Grants Program was created by CVS Caremark as part of its commitment to putting people on the path to better health by creating greater access to health care services and providing support for the uninsured and underinsured.  The support from CVS Caremark will help Community Nurse to provide quality, low cost dental care to their adult and pediatric patients. 

Oral disease prevention and management are successfully accomplished by providing our patients with access to preventative care, starting with fluoride varnish applications for patients under three years of age, preventative and restorative visits for children and adults and diligent follow-up for completion of treatment plans. Screenings for, and education about oral cancer risks, tobacco use, tongue piercings and soft drink consumption are aimed at reducing oral health disease. During FY2012, Community Nurse provided over 3900 dental visits for 1430 unduplicated pediatric and adult patients. Our dental clinic is the only one of its kind in our service area providing preventative as well as restorative dental services for this target population.

“The CVS Caremark Community Grant will allow us to continue to provide quality oral care to our patients and their families, “ said Angela Curran, Community Nurse CEO. “Especially with our expected increase in patient numbers over the next several years, support from community organizations will be more important than ever. We are thrilled to work with CVS and look forward to further developing our relationship.”

“We are committed to helping people on their path to better health and the CVS Caremark Community grants program does just that by supporting organizations that provide access to health care to those who otherwise could not obtain it,” said Dennis Palmer, SVP, CVS/pharmacy West Division. 

“We are proud to support the work that Community Nurse does in the community and we look forward to working with them in the year ahead.”

Community Nurse was selected to receive a grant through the CVS Caremark Community Grants 2012 application process.  Grants were awarded to organizations that support CVS Caremark’s goal of making health services affordable and easy to access for all by providing programs for the uninsured.  The goal of the CVS Caremark Community Grants program is to provide relief for both adults and children who lack medical insurance to get the proper medical attention needed.

For over 90 years, Community Nurse has served as a cornerstone of community health in the western suburbs of Chicago. It is the oldest community clinic in Illinois and among the oldest in the country. From its inception in 1921 as a well-baby clinic started by Nurse Marian Jean McLeod in H.P. Smith’s Drug Store on the corner of Hillgrove and Stone Avenues in La Grange, Community Nurse has proactively responded to the health care needs of vulnerable populations.

When first incorporated in 1930 as a nonprofit corporation, the stated mission of the agency was “to provide health care and other services to benefit residents of the area regardless of their ability to pay”, and to this day, their mission to provide quality physical, behavioral and oral health care services focuses on those with limited financial resources.

About CVS Caremark

CVS Caremark is the largest pharmacy health care provider in
the United States with integrated offerings across the entire spectrum of
pharmacy care. We are uniquely positioned to engage plan members in behaviors
that improve their health and to lower overall health care costs for health
plans, plan sponsors and their members. CVS Caremark is a market leader in mail
order pharmacy, retail pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, and retail clinics, and is
a leading provider of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans. As one of the
country's largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), we provide access to a
network of approximately 65,000 pharmacies, including more than 7,300
CVS/pharmacy® stores that provide unparalleled service and capabilities. Our
clinical offerings include our signature Pharmacy Advisor™ program as well as
innovative generic step therapy and genetic benefit management programs that
promote more cost effective and healthier behaviors and improve health care
outcomes. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the
Company’s website at http://info.cvscaremark.com/.