UF Health in Gainesville, Fla., plans to use a $500,000 grant to develop programs that support access to healthy foods and address transportation obstacles.
The health system will use the grant from the Florida Blue Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the state's Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate, to develop a new mobile "food pharmacy" that will travel across East Gainesville, an area that a needs assessment previously identified as having the region's "highest incidence of health disparities and most limited access to healthcare," according to a Feb. 12 news release from UF Health.
Additionally, UF Health is working with Uber Health to support patients with rides to appointments and prescription deliveries. The grant will also be used to support training for a cohort of healthcare students providing clinic services to become certified medical interpreters.
The efforts are part of a project tied to the UF Equal Access Clinic Network, a group of free clinics in Gainesville that provide annual checkups to nearly 2,000 patients per year.
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