CareFirst works closely with area charities and non-profit health organizations to make health care more accessible and affordable, to ensure patient safety, to enhance the quality of health care and to eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities.

In 2005, CareFirst helped provide vital health services to people who lack adequate care, promoted health and wellness activities throughout our region and contributed to disaster relief after the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Among the major programs CareFirst funded through community organizations in 2005 were:

• LaClinica del Pueblo, a health clinic serving the Latino population in Washington, D.C.;
• Dare to Live Healthy, an exercise and nutrition program involving more than 600 students, their parents and their teachers at Brandywine Springs Elementary School in Delaware;
• The Whitman-Walker Clinic, a D.C.-based health clinic serving those with HIV/AIDS;
• Boat People SOS, a Vietnamese service and advocacy group serving Greater Washington, which runs a cervical cancer awareness and screening program;
• The Governor’s Wellmobiles, traveling health units staffed by nurses and multilingual outreach workers who provide care to more than 6,000 people in Maryland. CareFirst helped underwrite the Wellmobiles’ travel to the Gulf Coast to assist Hurricane Katrina victims.

In addition, CareFirst partnered with professional sports teams – including the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Wizards as well as regional minor league baseball franchises – to support organizations such as Baltimore’s Healthcare for the Homeless, D.C.’s Boys and Girls Clubs and the American Cancer Society.