The Bank of America https://www.bankofamerica.com has committed $40 million to expand access to primary health care services in medically underserved communities.
Bank of America’s $40 million will provide low cost, long term capital to finance, develop, and expand community healthcare centers and primary care facilities.
The Bank of America will partner with non-profit Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) https://cdfifund.gov to distribute the funding. In addition, the Bank of America will provide $100,000 in philanthropic grants to help with CDFI operational costs and to help create new health centers.
The $40 million capital commitment is how the Bank of America is working to advance racial equality and economic opportunity and build on the Banks’s recent $25 million collaboration with leading health organizations.
The recent $25 million collaboration involves the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health will be used to improve health outcomes in communities of color.
Primary care providers provide both essential services and employment that focuses on the whole person and when integrated with mental health and substance use services, can lead to better health for people and their communities, and reduce the burden of chronic disease.
It has been shown that an increase of just one primary care physician for every 10,000 people leads to 5.5% fewer hospital visits, 11% fewer emergency department visits, 7% fewer surgeries, and is associated with a 51.5 day increase in life expectancy.