HHF, CVS Health, Launch Miami Health Care Pilot

12-month effort to reach 200,000 students and families while engaging Latino college healthcare students from FIU and other colleges to gain experience while diversifying field 

MIAMI, FL – The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), CVS Health, and Navarro Pharmacy hosted an event to launch a pilot program to deliver training and improved strategies to 102 School-Based Health Care (SBHC) teams in the greater Miami Region, which will reach approximately 200,000 students and their families over the next 12 months. The pilot will be replicable and scalable across the country and will leverage HHF’s LOFT (Latinos On Fast Track) Healthcare Track which will engage Latino students from FIU to assist in the effort and provide them with practical experiences.

The event took place on Tuesday, October 28, from 2–4 p.m., at Booker T. Washington High School, 1200 NW, 6th Ave, Miami, FL, which is an SBHC.

The event featured Dr. Pedro Jose Greer, Jr., Florida International University Chair of the Department of Humanities, Health, and Society Associate Dean for Community Engagement, FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, who is also HHF Chair Emeritus, board member and the inspiration for the LOFT Healthcare Track.  Also attending was CVS Health Chief Diversity Officer David Casey, HHF President and CEO Jose Antonio Tijerino, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho (invited).

“We are thrilled to be a part of this impactful effort in Miami through our partnership with CVS Health and FIU which will involve our talented young Latinos who will gain experience and mentoring through this program,” said Tijerino.  “This effort is part of our LOFT Healthcare Track which works to diversify the healthcare field and was inspired by Dr. Joe Greer who continues to be a local and national leader in providing care to those in need.  He has served as a role model and mentor to countless talented young people in our Healthcare Track for many years and to bring Joe, FIU, CVS Health and HHF together for this effort is very exciting.”

The strategy was based on the findings from an effort led by CVS Health in Chicago called the SBHC Innovation Project which supported high school student respiratory health and related academic outcomes via:

• Asthma screenings, action plans and compliance,
• Increased flu immunization rates
• Smoking cessation strategies.