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NEW YORK /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/– CINQCARE, a company committed to deliver health and care where you live, with a deep commitment to Black and Brown communities, and leading health and well-being company Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), are teaming up to serve Medicare Advantage members throughout New York.

Together, the two companies, which share a dedication to comprehensive, whole-person health solutions, aim to improve healthcare challenges and close gaps in specific communities in the state.

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“Our partnership with Humana represents a pivotal moment in our ongoing dedication to deliver care that treats members like family,” said Rodney Armstead, M.D., CINQCARE’s Chief Medical Officer. “Together, Humana and CINQCARE will work to create a positive and enduring impact on improving health, care and well-being in the homes and communities of those who need it most.”

CINQCARE, through its innovative “Care at Home” model, will offer robust care management to qualifying Humana members including around-the-clock telephonic nurse support and remote monitoring, and at-home services including visits from nurses and physicians.

“At Humana, our unwavering commitment has always been to provide high-quality care and improve health outcomes,” said Humana Northeast Regional Medicare President Julie Mascari. “By combining our expertise and resources, Humana and CINQCARE hope to make significant strides in improving the health and well-being of the diverse population of Medicare Advantage members we serve in New York.”

About CINQCARE
CINQCARE is committed to every day deliver health and care where you live, with a deep commitment to Black and Brown people and those who need care the most. CINQCARE is passionate about empowering frontline caregivers to deliver better health, care and well-being to the communities they serve. CINQCARE is on a mission – community by community – to be the provider-led, comprehensive care partner of choice. At CINQCARE, we champion a Culture of Care, because we care. For more information, visit www.cinq.care.

About Humana
Humana Inc. is committed to putting health first – for our teammates, our customers, and our company. Through our Humana insurance services, and our CenterWell health care services, we make it easier for the millions of people we serve to achieve their best health – delivering the care and service they need, when they need it. These efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, Medicaid, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large. Learn more about what we offer at Humana.com and at CenterWell.com. 

SOURCE CINQCARE

On This World AIDS DAY, Montefiore Shares How New York State and New York City Departments of Health Funding Will Bring More Prevention & Treatment Options to the Bronx

BRONX, N.Y. /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Montefiore AIDS Center, one of the largest HIV prevention and treatment programs in New York State, has been awarded $6.8 million in New York State and New York City Departments of Health funding to amplify its already robust prevention and treatment program for Bronx adults and youth over the next five years. The three grants secured since last World AIDS Day, are all focused on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) including the LGBTQ+ community.

One in four new HIV diagnoses in New York City happens in the Bronx. Most of the individuals impacted by this virus identify as Black or Hispanic and are under 40 years old.

“We have made tremendous strides in addressing HIV and AIDS. But since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, communities of color and people who identify as LGBTQ+ remain at higher risk and unacceptable disparities remain,” said Barry Zingman, M.D., the principal investigator at Montefiore for all three grants and Medical Director of the Montefiore AIDS Center. “The funding from New York State and City allows us to expand services, and enhance our team with more counselors, patient educators and mental health support to ensure our patients obtain the comprehensive care required to meet their medical and psychosocial needs, both to optimally treat those living with HIV and to prevent it in people who are at higher risk. Importantly, the new funding also enables us to increase services that will help us to identify and address barriers to care like lack of healthy food, unhealthy living conditions and unstable housing.”

The three grants include:

1. Advancing Health Equity through Comprehensive Community-Based HIV Ambulatory Care Services: Component A, Retention and Adherence Program (for The Center for Positive Living/ID Clinic): focuses on both newly diagnosed patients and those who were previously diagnosed who are on antiretroviral therapy that has failed to suppress their viral load (associated with decreased survival and increased HIV transmission). The goal is to help these individuals, particularly people who have been impacted by racial discrimination, trauma and stigma, tackle a range of challenges related to health disparities like limited English proficiency, educational and transportation barriers. By addressing these challenges, the goal is to help people consistently access comprehensive care and maximize opportunities for viral load suppression, which in turn leads most to a long, healthy life with HIV and prevents transmission of the virus to others.  
2. Advancing Health Equity through Comprehensive Community-Based HIV Ambulatory Care Services: Component B, Centers for Young Adults (for The Oval Center at Montefiore): enables Montefiore to provide 13–29-year-old BIPOC LGBTQ+ Bronx patients living with HIV, with comprehensive primary, HIV and mental health care. The goal of the program is to have Montefiore’s multidisciplinary staff, consisting of infectious disease specialists, outreach specialists, social workers, peer navigators, patient educators and more to assist historically underserved patients in improving self-management of their HIV disease. Montefiore will also help this population with addressing challenges like lack of medication, difficulty adhering to medical appointments, food insecurity and feelings of isolation and depression.
3. 24-PHC-165P for PlaySure Network 2.0 in Health Care Settings: a high performing site since the start of this funding in 2022, Montefiore earned more funding in 2023 to increase screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and to improve access to medicines like PrEP and PEP (pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis) that prevent HIV. There is a continued focus on the impact of housing, transportation and education. Funding also supported activities to address MPOX (formerly called “monkeypox”) which disproportionately affects gay, bi, trans and other men who have sex with men, as well as other racial and ethnic minority groups in New York City. Montefiore has been one of the largest evaluation and treatment site for MPOX in New York State and one of the first to offer MPOX vaccines on-site, ensuring that populations experiencing the greatest health disparities in the region do not suffer from lack of vaccine access.

“For more than 20 years, the Montefiore AIDS Center has proudly served the Bronx and surrounding areas, and more recently opened The Jacobs Family Pride Wellness Center (JFPWC) of Montefiore Nyack Hospital, the first LGBTQ+-focused medical center in the Hudson Valley,” continued Dr. Zingman, who is also professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and clinical director, infectious diseases, at the Moses division of Montefiore Health System. “Our experience consistently reinforces the importance of regularly learning from and caring for our communities, particularly people who are stigmatized and might be distrustful and disengaged from the healthcare system. Having these additional funds and support from the State and City will help us make a real difference in people’s lives and we hope will create opportunities to recognize and celebrate our achievements on future World AIDS Days.”

Yesterday, The Oval Center, part of the Montefiore AIDS Center, was awarded a NYS DOH Commissioner’s Special Recognition Award in the HIV category and The Jacobs Family Pride Wellness Center of Montefiore Nyack Hospital was awarded a Commissioner’s Special Recognition Award in the LGBTQ+ category, at New York DOH’s Annual World AIDS Day event.

About Montefiore Health System

Montefiore Health System is one of New York’s premier academic health systems. It is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester, and the Hudson Valley. It comprises ten hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, and over two hundred outpatient ambulatory care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information, please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or view us on Facebook and YouTube.

SOURCE Montefiore Health System

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD will join prominent scientists and government health officials this week at a Symposium in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss new treatments for sickle cell disease (SCD). The disease, which afflicts 20 million people around the world, notably affects the Black community, reducing their average lifespan by 22 years.

Dr. Gladwin is currently heading a randomized multicenter clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health, that is being conducted across 22 sites in Brazil, France and the U.S. It is the largest clinical trial of its kind to test the effectiveness of a technique called red cell exchange transfusion in prolonging life and slowing or reversing end organ damage.

At the Symposium, taking place at HEMORIO, a hematology research and transfusion center in Rio De Janeiro, Dr. Gladwin will provide a medical overview of pulmonary hypertension in SCD and an update on enrollment in the clinical trial, called Sickle Cell Disease and CardiovAscular Risk – Red Cell Exchange Trial (SCD-CARRE), to date.

Dr. Gladwin will be joined by Dr. Claudia Mello, the Rio De Janeiro State Secretary of Health, along with Joice Aragão, the National Coordinator of the Brazilian Blood Program. Other presenters will include Luiz Amorim, General Director at HEMORIO; Clarisse Lobo, PhD, Clinical Research Specialist at HEMORIO; and Darrell Triulzi, MD, and Jude Jonassaint, RN from the University of Pittsburgh.

In the SCD-CARRE trial, 150 patients at high risk of dying from their sickle cell disease will be randomly assigned to receive either the standard of care alone or in combination with monthly red blood cell exchange treatments for one year. While blood transfusions are commonly used to treat acute complications in sickle cell disease, they can cause iron toxicity due to the presence of excessive red blood cells. In red cell exchange transfusion, the sickled red blood cells are removed and replaced with normal red blood cells, but the process is longer, more expensive, and requires more donor blood. 

“Approximately 30 percent of patients with sickle cell disease develop serious organ damage, such as cardiopulmonary complications, and kidney or liver failure, with the risks steadily increasing with age,” Dr. Gladwin said. “The goal of the study is to determine whether red cell exchange can lower deaths, reduce hospitalizations, and slow down or reverse the development of major end-stage organ damage.”

Overall, Dr. Gladwin’s scientific work is focused on translational biochemistry and vascular biology, with a particular emphasis on nitrite and nitric oxide-hemoglobin interactions. With an active federally-funded research laboratory, Dr. Gladwin is engaged in studies and clinical trials centered around nitric oxide, nitrite, and vascular biology.

Dr. Gladwin has extensively studied a novel disease mechanism known as hemolysis-associated endothelial dysfunction. This groundbreaking research has identified a state of nitric oxide resistance in patients with conditions such as sickle cell disease, malaria, transfusion of aged blood, and other hemolytic disorders. This resistance is caused by the scavenging of nitric oxide by hemoglobin released into the plasma during hemolysis. Dr. Gladwin’s studies have translated into clinical and epidemiological insights, leading to the recognition of a human disease syndrome called hemolysis-associated pulmonary hypertension, which is highly prevalent in individuals with sickle cell anemia.

Dr. Gladwin’s contributions in the fields of vascular biology, nitric oxide, and nitrite research have had a profound impact on the medical community. His work has not only advanced our understanding of the intricate mechanisms underlying blood flow regulation and the role of reactive nitrogen molecules but has also translated into tangible therapeutic advancements. The development of intravenous, oral, and inhaled nitrite as potential therapies represents a significant milestone in the treatment of various conditions, including those related to hypoxia and hemolysis. These innovative therapeutic approaches offer promising avenues for improving patient outcomes and enhancing quality of life.

SOURCE University of Maryland School of Medicine