Giving Back to Our Communities

Fidelis Care and the Centene Foundation Award $1.1 Million to The Jed Foundation to Protect the Mental Health of New York’s Youth

Funding will help expand emotional well-being resources, educational workshops, and training programs for community-based organizations that foster communities of care statewide

September 20, 2024, NEW YORK CITY — Fidelis Care, a leading health insurer providing quality, affordable coverage to New Yorkers, and the Centene Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation, announced today a $1.1 million grant to The Jed Foundation (JED), a national nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults.

With this grant, JED will expand its current services, providing at least five youth-serving community-based organizations (CBOs) with consultation or strategic planning services, including expert guidance, educational workshops, and training programs, equipping young people with life skills and connecting them to mental health care when they are in distress.

“We are thrilled to support the vital work of The Jed Foundation with this grant,” said Vincent Marchello, Chief Medical Officer at Fidelis Care. “At Fidelis Care, we recognize the importance of mental health services in creating healthier communities. This investment underscores our commitment to ensuring youth and adolescents have access to the critical support they need to thrive.”

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), it is currently estimated that nearly one in five 12- to 17-year-olds in the United States experience a major depressive episode every year, and almost half of teens 13 to 17 say they would seek out professional help only as a last resort. In New York State, the need for enhanced mental health support for school-aged youth is critical: in 2021, 57% of New York 12- to 17-year-olds with depression had not received any care in the last year.

“JED is grateful to Fidelis Care and the Centene Foundation for their commitment to supporting the emotional well-being of New York youth and for providing the resources to help them thrive,” said John MacPhee, JED Chief Executive Officer. “This partnership will allow us to bring JED’s lifesaving work to community-based organizations across the state and help them build on their mental health safety nets and approaches, while positively impacting the lives of thousands of young people.”

The inaugural group of CBOs includes Bottom Line, an organization that partners with degree-aspiring students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds as they get into and through college and launch mobilizing first careers; Hetrick-Martin Institute, which provides free, year-round programs and services for LGBTQIA+ youth and allies aged 13 to 24 in New York City; and Prep for Prep, which provides first-rate educational, leadership development and professional advancement opportunities for young people of color in New York City.

"Through decades of experience at Bottom Line, we have seen that the condition of a student's mental health plays a significant role in their overall journey to becoming a college graduate and professional,” said Sheneita R. Graham, Director of Culturally Responsive Programming at Bottom Line. “Our role at Bottom Line is to build strong relationships that assist us in determining need and connecting students to resources that will help them thrive personally to persist academically. Partnering with The Jed Foundation grants us the opportunity to expertly assess our mental health policies, processes, and resources to ensure we provide our students with thoughtful, high-quality support."

"Hetrick-Martin Institute is pleased to be working with The Jed Foundation to improve our ability to recognize young people in distress and conduct suicide risk assessments," said Bridget Hughes, Chief Program Officer at Hetrick-Martin Institute.

"We are so grateful to The Jed Foundation for hosting two workshops for our incoming college freshmen as part of our annual College Transition Retreat,” said Corey Rhoades, Director of Undergraduate Affairs at Prep for Prep. “The presenters shared their expertise and tailored the sessions in a way that was uniquely relevant and engaging for our students."

To learn more about ways to provide community-based organizations with consulting, evidence-based best practices, and data-driven guidance to protect youth mental health and prevent suicide, visit JED’s website .

Screener Program Provides Support to Families Impacted by Social Determinants of Health

SDoH-chart

Fidelis Care’s innovative SDoH screener program was launched two years ago as a grassroots health equity initiative to address conditions in the environments where people are born, live, work, and play that affect their health, well-being, and quality of life. Social Determinants of Health can affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes – particularly among vulnerable populations and in underserved areas.

The screener enables trained Fidelis Care representatives to assess an individual’s immediate needs and challenges related to SDoH through a brief series of questions covering areas such as access to transportation, food, and secure and safe housing. More than 450,000 Fidelis Care members have participated to date.

Click here to learn more about the different Social Determinants of Health and find available resources.

Learn how Fidelis Care impacts the communities we are privileged to serve.

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Prostate Cancer Awareness and Prevention

6/21/2021 • Posted by Alan J. Wieder, MD in Caregiver Support, Corporate News, Health and Wellness

rethink-and-Fidelis-Care

While September has been designated as Prostate Cancer Awareness and Prevention month, it is never too early to learn about this disease.

Cancer of the prostate (a walnut-sized gland located just under the bladder and in front of the rectum) is the second most common cancer in men. The risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age, especially after the age of 65. African-American men, and in men with close relatives with prostate cancer have an increased chance of having prostate cancer.

Most prostate cancers grow slowly and never cause any symptoms. Symptoms that may occur include trouble passing urine, frequent urination, blood in the urine, and pain or burning with urination. Symptoms of advanced disease may include bone pain. It should be noted that these symptoms may be caused by conditions other than cancer.

If caught early, the death rate from prostate cancer is low. Common treatments for early prostate cancer include watchful waiting (close monitoring of the cancer to see if it grows or causes symptoms before starting any treatment), surgery, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy.

Now that you have some basic information about prostate cancer, are there ways to prevent prostate cancer? Are there ways to detect early prostate cancer? Is treating early prostate cancer always necessary?

The answer to the first question is, not really. At this time there are no known risk factors for prostate cancer that are under our control. We can’t control our age, race, or family history.

In terms of early detection of prostate cancer, otherwise known as “screening”, two tests are commonly used – a digital rectal exam (DRE) and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.

During a DRE, your examiner places a finger into your rectum and checks for any abnormalities that may require further testing for cancer. A limitation of this test is that it may miss many early prostate cancers.

PSA is a chemical that is normally produced by your prostate and measured with a blood test. High levels of PSA can be due to prostate cancer. The problem is that your PSA level may be normal even if you have prostate cancer. Or, your PSA level may be high due to non-cancer causes, which may lead to anxiety, and unnecessary tests and treatments.

Also, even if early prostate cancer is detected, it may be slow-growing and never cause a problem. Again, this may lead to anxiety and unnecessary tests and treatments.

The bottom line is that screening for prostate cancer remains controversial. Some men would like to do everything possible to check for cancer, even if the tests aren’t perfect, and even if the cancer may never cause them any problems. Others would rather not be tested since the results may not be reliable, and they may end up having tests and/or treatments that they don’t really need.

So what can you do? You can have a discussion with your health care provider and decide whether screening for prostate cancer is right for you. Also, contact your health care provider if you have any of the symptoms listed above.