Highmark West Virginia donates thousands of face masks to the WV Bureau of Senior Services as well as United Way Agencies

Parkersburg, W.Va. (September 23, 2020) — As part of its ongoing initiative to help West Virginians during the COVID-19 pandemic, Highmark West Virginia donated 15,000 masks to the WV Bureau of Senior Services as well as United Way Agencies throughout the state.

“Highmark remains committed to keeping those who do so much for our communities safe and healthy during the ongoing pandemic,” said Jim Fawcett, president of Highmark West Virginia. “These organizations do so much for their communities, and we want to make sure that they are able to continue their operations safely.”

The West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services is a state agency that acts as the lead entity for programs serving older West Virginians, such as senior centers and nutrition programs. 

“I want express my appreciation to Highmark and Jim Fawcett for the 15,000 masks”, said Robert Roswall, commissioner of the WV Bureau of Senior Services.  “This donation will help protect the in - home caregivers provider network, and the seniors they serve.” 

Masks are also being sent to seniors enrolled in Highmark’s Medicare Advantage product, as well as several group clients.  Organizations selected for the donation received a predetermined number of face masks based on their size of the group. 

Earlier this year, Highmark Inc. and the Highmark Foundation announced $307,000 in grants to organizations focused on helping people in need throughout West Virginia during the COVID-19 pandemic including three food banks, as well as community-based health care organizations focused on strengthening their capacity to serve those who are uninsured and underserved in West Virginia.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Highmark Health Plan has taken many proactive measures through coverage expansions, increased options to access to care, support for its communities, providers and customers, and by providing resources to access help and information to ensure that our members, employees and communities are safe and can continue to receive care. Initially, Highmark expanded benefits to cover telehealth and inpatient, in-network COVID-19 treatment with no cost-sharing and has now extended that until December 31.

To support those affected by the pandemic, Highmark dedicated a web site (highmarkanswers.com) to answer questions and provide insight to the community and launched a stream of podcasts to assist in understanding issues surrounding COVID-19. Highmark also committed $2 million in grants to food insecurity, safety net providers and COVID-19 relief organizations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware.