CVS Health and its Foundation Commemorate Veterans Day With $580,000 in Grants to Easterseals To Assure Access to Healthcare and Smoking Cessation Support for Veterans and Military Families

CHICAGO, Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This Veteran's Day, Easterseals announced it has received $580,000 in grants from CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation to support local services that ensure access to healthcare and smoking cessation resources for Veterans and military families. 

As part of the funding, Easterseals has received $70,000 for national programming and six Easterseal affiliates who excel in programs that respond to the local needs of Veterans, their family members and caregivers will each receive a $10,000 grant. Beneficiaries include:

• Easterseals Greater Cincinnati (OH) will provide emergency services to Veterans and their families through its Community One Source Program, helping them navigate health care solutions in the community;
• Easterseals Serving DC MD VA will advance community outreach to Veterans and their families in need of mental health services which can be addressed at its recently opened Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic;
• Easterseals Greater Houston will heighten engagement with Veterans and their family members who can benefit from mental health supports, counseling and emergency assistance available through the affiliate's partnership with the Texas Veterans and Family Alliance Project;
• Easterseals North Carolina will increase its capacity to serve caregivers throughout North Carolina, providing wellness programs to assure their wellbeing so they can care for their loved ones who've served our nation; and
• Easterseals New Hampshire and Easterseals Maine, part of a three-state partnership that also includes Easterseals Vermont, will sustain and further develop their Military and Veterans Services (MVS) Program that combines care coordination with emergency assistance so Veterans can access behavioral health and physical healthcare while addressing a wide range of issues affecting their lives including housing, employment and family stability.  Since its introduction in 2012, MVS has provided direct services to nearly 10,000 Veterans and their families.

"CVS Health and Easterseals share a commitment to the health and well being of all Americans," said Eileen Howard Boone, senior vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility for CVS Health and president of the CVS Health Foundation.  "As Veterans Day approaches, we're proud to honor our nation's Veterans with support to a partner like Easterseals which offers community-based services for  Veterans and their families."

In addition to the grants that will expand access to care, CVS Health Foundation has also donated $450,000 in grants to help advance Easterseals' commitment to helping Americans live tobacco-free lives, including those populations served by Easterseals which have a higher incidence of smoking among Veterans and their caregivers. Several local affiliates have received funding to achieve the following outcomes:

• Easterseals affiliates in Alabama, Colorado, Maine, Ohio and Washington are advancing smoking cessation initiatives with Veterans and military caregivers in the communities they serve;
• Easterseals Iowa and Easterseals New Jersey continue to employ best practices in helping their constituents, including Veterans and their caregivers,  quit smoking and are mentoring new affiliates in the program; and
• Easterseals Michigan, Easterseals New Hampshire and Easterseals New York are working with Veterans and their families receiving behavioral health and/or substance abuse and recovery services and identifying best practices among these populations to help them address addictions including smoking and prescription drugs. 

About Easterseals
Easterseals is the leading non-profit provider of services for people living with disabilities, including Veterans and their caregivers.  Through therapy, training, education and support services, Easterseals creates life-changing solutions so that people with disabilities, can live, learn, work and play in their communities.  For more information, visit www.easterseals.com

About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its 9,700 retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 90 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com/.

SOURCE Easterseals