health literacy

Fourteen Florida organizations dedicated to improving health equity will face off in the GuideWell Reshaping Health Access Challenge virtual state finals on Wed., Oct. 28 for an opportunity to win a grand prize of $40,000 in funding to further their efforts to help achieve health access or health literacy in their respective community. The 14 finalists were selected after pitching their solutions to a panel of judges at one of four regional pitch events held virtually in mid-September.

GuideWell issued the statewide challenge to entrepreneurs, nonprofits, innovators and organizations to seek innovative ideas for improving health disparities – an issue that has long existed and that has become more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent civic unrest and racial tension across the country.

GuideWell today selected four organizations to receive seed money to implement their innovative ideas to address barriers to health access and health literacy in West Florida. Starting Right, Now, Tampa Family Health Centers, Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative and Preeclampsia Foundation were selected from a group of 10 regional innovators across West Florida to receive $5,000 in funding. In addition, they will advance to GuideWell’s Reshaping Health Access challenge finals where they’ll have the opportunity to compete for a $40,000 state grand prize. Funds will be used to address health and racial inequities that exist in their respective local communities.

The four innovative ideas from West Florida advancing to the finals include:

GuideWell has selected four South Florida organizations to receive seed money to implement their innovative ideas to address barriers to health access and health literacy. Student ACES, Epilepsy Florida, T. LeRoy Jefferson Medical Society, and the Health Information Project, Inc. (HIP) were selected from a group of 10 regional innovators across South Florida to receive $5,000 in funding. In addition, they will advance to GuideWell’s Reshaping Health Access challenge finals where they’ll have the opportunity to compete for a $40,000 state grand prize. Funds will be used to address health and racial inequities that exist in their respective local communities. The groups were selected after a virtual pitch competition that was held on Friday, September 18.

The three innovative ideas from North Florida organizations advancing to the finals include:

GuideWell today selected three Central Florida organizations to receive seed money to implement their innovative ideas to address barriers to health access and health literacy. The Center for Multicultural Wellness and Prevention, the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center and the Center for Quality Medication Management at the University of Florida were selected from a group of 10 regional innovators across Central Florida to receive $5,000 in funding. In addition, they will advance to GuideWell’s Reshaping Health Access challenge finals where they’ll have the opportunity to compete for a $40,000 state grand prize. Funds will be used to address health and racial inequities that exist in their respective local communities.

The three innovative ideas from Central Florida organizations advancing to the finals include:

GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation (GuideWell), the parent to a family of forward-thinking companies focused on transforming health care, is launching Reshaping Health Access, a statewide challenge to identify solutions focused on addressing health access and literacy to underserved populations in Florida.

Both the COVID-19 health pandemic and the recent focus on racial injustice are critical public health issues that are shining a spotlight on the need to address health disparities. Reshaping Health Access will serve as one of several efforts GuideWell is taking to help our communities strive to achieve new levels of equality.