Anthem BCBS Foundation Makes Significant Impact with COVID-19 Emergency Response Grant to Wesley Woods Senior Living

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wesley Woods Senior Living, which operates 10 senior living communities throughout North Georgia, was awarded a year-long grant by The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation in the amount of $89,000 for COVID-19 relief and response efforts. As the year-long supplemental grant expires later this month, Wesley Woods is crediting the Anthem BCBS Foundation for funding the resources needed to significantly contain the spread amongst their senior living communities. Awarded in June 2020, the grant also assisted the mission-driven non-profit with the unforeseen expenses caused by the pandemic.

The emergency relief grant immediately funded personal protective equipment (PPE) for all staff and residents, including N95 masks, gloves, gowns, and face shields, cleaning and sanitation supplies and services, and disposable containers to convert all food service to delivery to minimize exposure. In addition, Wesley Woods provided psychotherapy to help many residents cope with the problematic effects of social distancing and helped them to be more receptive to safety guidelines.

“The PPE funding was key to providing the highest level of vigilance for mitigating spread and helped guard against any (major) outbreaks within our 10 residential communities,” said Terry Barcroft, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wesley Woods Senior Living. “Despite critical shortages, Wesley Woods swung into action and was able to guarantee our care providers with full and adequate protection and maintain strict infection control protocols for anyone entering our community.” As a result, infection rates averaged below 5% and allowed care providers to assist with daily living and health services within the residential communities, minimizing outside care and risk of exposure. Wesley Woods anticipates that PPE will remain a crucial part of Wesley Wood’s healthcare practices for the foreseeable future.

The Emergency Response grant is just one substantial offering provided by The Anthem Foundation, which committed $50 million to support relief efforts across the country.

“Anthem is committed to improving lives in the communities where we live and work, and that mission was never more real than throughout this pandemic,” said Pamela Stahl, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Georgia. “The unprecedented need for support across our state included our seniors, but also those healthcare workers on the front lines who care for them every day. We are grateful for organizations like Wesley Woods and the positive impact they have in our Georgia communities.”

Wesley Woods is a mission-driven non-profit creating communities of connection, wellbeing, and promise for older adults. Imagined in 1954 by innovative leaders of the United Methodist Church and the greater Atlanta community, Wesley Woods provides various levels of care including independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation
Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem’s commitment to improving lives and communities. Through strategic partnerships and programs, the Foundation addresses the social drivers that will help create a healthier generation of Americans in communities that the company serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on critical initiatives that make up its Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets: maternal health, diabetes prevention, cancer prevention, heart health and healthy, active lifestyles, behavioral health efforts and programs that benefit people with disabilities. The Foundation also coordinates the company’s year-round Dollars for Dollars program which provides a 100 percent match of associates’ donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. To learn more about the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, please visit http://www.anthem.foundation and its blog at https://medium.com/anthemfoundation.