February 15, 2022 – In honor of this year’s Black History Month theme of “Black Health and Wellness,” BD is working to advance health equity by highlighting it’s $500,000 investment in an innovative initiative spearheaded by Americares and the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, which seeks to reduce health inequities among patients served by free and charitable clinics in the United States.
Racial, societal, and economic factors have a direct impact on people’s health and their ability to access needed healthcare and other resources. In a recent media release, BD said “Multiple studies show that Black people experience higher rates of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, are more likely to die from treatable conditions, and live fewer years, on average, than white people.”
BD Chairman, CEO and President Tom Polen said, when the company announced this partnership with Americares and NAFC late last year, “Investing in the health of our communities is a pillar of the BD environmental, social and governance strategy. By supporting this important, first-of-its-kind initiative, we’re helping to empower U.S. free and charitable clinics to measure and track the degree to which their health care services are effectively addressing inequity, so we can determine where additional support is needed to ensure more equitable health care quality and access for all.”