![]() ![]() Increase patients’ confidence by making educational materials, recipes, and other tools available to patients to guide and inform them about the benefits of healthy eating.Promote patients’ self-efficacy by offering navigation services including providing community resources available in the community.Assist patients in securing long-term sustainable food assistance through SNAP and WIC application assistance.Reduce potential readmissions by identifying and referring patients experiencing hardship from various social determinants of health (food insecurity, housing instability, transportation barriers and others).Reduce the life expectancy gap and improve patients’ health outcomes by providing access to nutritious foods for all patients identified with food insecurity.The aims of the Rush’s Food is Medicine Veggie Rx pantry are to: The program is also partnering with Top Box Foods, a grocer that works with underserved communities in Chicago. Participants will get help signing up for long-term food assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Meals on Wheels, if they are eligible. A community health worker will also sign them up for two additional home deliveries. At the pantry, they'll receive a bag containing healthy proteins and produce. Those who identify as food insecure will be referred to the Food Is Medicine pantry. Under the pilot program, patients in six clinics at Rush University Medical Center are screened for potential food insecurity using a series of questions to measure social determinants of health (non-medical factors that lead to adverse health conditions, like regular access to healthy food). Through ensuring connections to resources for food, primary care, insurance, utilities, transportation, and housing increases one’s stability in the community, our patients are better equipped to focus on improving their overall health and well-being. “People have a right to healthy food, to grocery stores, to fruits and vegetables in their diet." ![]() “When I began learning about communities of color, health equity, and equitable access to food, I fell in love with the concept of helping others who were less fortunate than myself," says Julia Bassett, system manager for health and community benefit at Rush University Medical Center. COVID-19 has resulted in more people facing new and additional challenges, affecting their ability to manage their health. Before the pandemic, over 560,000 West Side residents face at least one barrier to accessing healthy food. West Side Chicago residents report barriers to obtaining affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, which is linked to poor health outcomes. Rush University Medical Center’s Office of Community Health Equity and Engagement (CHEE) has launched the Food Is Medicine program, which is designed to provide a long-term solution to food insecurity for Rush patients.įood insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. ![]()
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