Cone Health has committed to invest $150 million over the next five years to improving health care in parts of the region with substantially lower life expectancies than those in other areas it serves, including in Alamance County.
Though the main focus will be in east Greensboro, Cone Health said in its announcement it will be looking at the parts of Alamance, Forsyth, Randolph, Rockingham and Guilford counties where residents have disproportionately high rates of high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and other treatable or preventable ailments that shorten their lives.
Cone Health CEO Dr. Mary Jo Cagle said out that even this amount of investment won’t address all the needs of these communities, but she hopes Cone Health can make partnerships that will amplify the effects.
“I encourage others to join us through their investments or through philanthropy in ours,” she said.
Cone Health has spent millions over the past decade providing transportation assistance, mobile medicine clinics, community health fairs and other forms of outreach to people in these areas, and last year, Cone Health stated its goal of “reducing a 15-year gap in life expectancy by five years over five years,” and effort it calls CATCH 5 in 5.
The investment announced Thursday strives for a permanent response, Cone Health said in a press release.
Cone Health said it is still too soon to know exactly how the total investment will be spent. Medical offices and digitally connected health hubs could be conveniently placed in both rural and urban areas, the release said. Next steps include research in these communities with key stakeholders to help tailor specific services and facilities to those populations.
