The CVS Health Foundation in partnership with the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics awarded $20,000 to the Free Clinic of Meridian, Inc. to help patients with diabetes manage and fully understand their condition. 

The CVS Health Foundation, a private charitable organization created by CVS Health, also recently extended its commitment to the NAFC with $1 million in new grants, according to a foundation news release. Forty-nine free clinics across the country received funding from the foundation.

“The rising cost of healthcare can make finding quality and affordable care harder to come by for many Americans,” Eileen Howard Boone, president of the CVS Health Foundation, said in a statement. “Through our support of the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, we’re able to increase access to quality care, improve chronic disease management and care coordination to help improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable patients and reduce health care costs in the communities we serve.”

The Free Clinic of Meridian, Inc. will utilize its $20,000 grant to support its “A Healthier You” program, with a theme of “Take Charge of Diabetes,” to support the clinic’s large prediabetic and diabetic populations, according to the news release. Educational group meetings and one-on-one clinical care and counseling will be an important part of the program and will educate on diabetes prevention, the effects of lifestyle choices, comorbidity with other conditions, diabetes management and ultimately help reduce the severity of diabetes in their lives, according to the news release.

“Diabetes is a huge issue in the state of Mississippi and especially for our clinic’s population. This year we are excited to offer a variety of resources and events to directly impact over 70 patients due to the support of this grant,” Barbara Gaston Zeller, program coordinator at Free Clinic of Meridian, Inc., said in a statement.

For more information on how the Free and Charitable Clinics will be utilizing their grants, visit www.cvshealth.com/NAFC.