Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliate HealthKeepers, Inc., which offers its Anthem HealthKeepers Plus coverage to eligible Virginia Medicaid/FAMIS Plus and FAMIS recipients, announced today that it will team with Capital Diaper Bank to help collect diapers and raise awareness about the important health benefits of keeping the Commonwealth of Virginia’s tiniest residents in clean diapers.
Working together, the organizations will foster alliances with community-based organizations and local businesses and expand HealthKeepers’ Diaper Change Diaper Drive campaign throughout the four regions of the state. Under this new agreement, all diapers raised during the diaper drive campaigns will be delivered to the Capital Diaper Bank for distribution to families in need.
HealthKeepers initially launched its Diaper Change Diaper Drive campaign in 2011 and its efforts across the state have raised more than 100,000 diapers for families in need.
In today’s challenging economy, many families struggle to keep their infants and toddlers in clean diapers. On average, infants use 12 diapers per day – a cost that can reach upwards of $100 a month, forcing many parents to leave their child in a soiled diaper because they can’t afford to change it. The results are often infants and toddlers who spend long hours in a soiled diaper, increasing their exposure to many health problems, from skin diseases to hepatitis.
Adding to the challenges faced by low-income families, the cost of diapers is not covered by social services programs. As a provider of health care benefits to more than 250,000 eligible Virginia Medicaid/FAMIS Plus and FAMIS recipients in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the health plan sees the impact firsthand this has on families.
“We are so excited to join efforts with such a well-respected organization as Capital Diaper Bank,” said, Candice McAuliffe, regional vice president for HealthKeepers’ Medicaid business. “We share their vision when it comes to making sure our tiniest residents are happy and healthy,” We know firsthand that many of our state’s families are struggling financially and the cost of keeping their infants in diapers can add to that burden. We’re confident our efforts will help reach a greater number of families across the state and, more importantly, help raise awareness about an issue that many families face alone.”
As the first and largest diaper bank in the Commonwealth, Capital Diaper Bank has a long-standing history of working with social services, the health department, shelters, local hospitals and schools, providing diapers free of charge for families in the community who could not otherwise afford them.
“Capital Diaper Bank is pleased to team with HealthKeepers, whose visionary commitment to the health and welfare of Virginian’s is exemplary,” said Phyllis Bradley, Executive Director. “Children are most vulnerable during the early years, with HealthKeepers’ assistance throughout the state, we can provide families in crisis situations critical support when it is needed most.”