Medica donates $200K to Nebraska non-profits to meet emergency needs

OMAHA—Medica today announced it would allocate $200,000 in emergency donations among nine Nebraska non-profit organizations and community health centers that play important roles in addressing needs of the most vulnerable people in communities statewide, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Funding is being made available through the Medica Foundation.

The organizations include Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska, and Foodbank for the Heartland, which serve Southwest Nebraska.

“Response to the extensive and destructive reach of the coronavirus requires a community-wide effort,” said Patrick Bourne, Medica Market Leader for Nebraska. “The Medica Foundation is proud to join with our community partners to support the critical health needs in our communities. I am grateful for our ability to support other organizations that need us more than ever as we face this public health crisis.”

The needs are significant and unprecedented. In response, Medica’s funding is targeted to support key focus areas including child and family support, clinics and shelters, food security, mental health / telehealth services and general disaster relief.

Among the nine organizations that will receive emergency funding, United Way of the Midlands will receive $25,000 in general disaster relief. The United Way 211 system has been overwhelmed with calls and the funding will help support the organization’s crisis response effort.

"COVID-19 has forced employers to make difficult decisions, creating an entirely new demographic of people: people who are newly in-need, out of work, and taking care of loved ones with no idea where to turn," said Shawna Forsberg, President and CEO of United Way Midlands. "We are so grateful to partner with Medica for the first time. Their generous gift will allow us to respond to the most immediate needs so people can get back on their feet during this trying time."

Nebraska Farm Bureau will receive $10,000 for disaster relief. The funding is particularly critical as farmers and ranchers still are recovering from the 2019 floods. Nebraska Farm Bureau set up a disaster relief fund for farm, ranch and rural families last year are still making payments to flood victims in 2020. They also have established a COVID-19 resource center for rural Nebraskans on its website at www.nefb.org and are putting training resources together to identify and treat stress factors facing rural Nebraskans.

“These are extraordinary times and no one has dealt with this kind of situation before with the disastrous floods of last year and the COVID-19 pandemic this year,” NEFB President Steve Nelson said. “Farm and ranch families and rural areas have additional risk factors both on the health and financial side of things and additional resources such as this donation from Medica will help us continue to assist rural Nebraskans coping with the impact of the pandemic.”

Other organizations statewide that will receive funding (organized by city) include:

· Lincoln: HopeSpoke

· Omaha: Charles Drew Health Center; OneWorld Community Health Center, Project Harmony

· Scottsbluff: Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska

More about the Medica Foundation

The Medica Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable grant-making foundation. It is an affiliate of Medica Health Plans, a Minnesota-based nonprofit HMO and Medica Insurance Company. The Medica Foundation generally seeks to fund community-based programs and initiatives that can provide sustainable, measurable improvements in the availability, access and quality of health care, particularly for underserved populations. Additional information about the Medica Foundation is available online.

About Medica

Medica (www.medica.com) is a non-profit health plan headquartered in Minnesota with a key regional office in Omaha. The company serves communities in the heart of America by providing health care coverage and related services in the employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. It operates in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Medica’s vision is to be trusted in the community for our unwavering commitment to high quality, affordable health care. Medica’s annual report, which includes the organization’s community involvement activities, is available online.