Community Care Organization Expands Scope of Its Programming and Partnerships to Help Members in Need During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Redwood City, CA – December 18, 2020 – Wider Circle, an innovative community care organization working with health plans and providers to connect neighbors for better health, today announced that the company has finished 2020 with record company growth and member engagement levels. As Wider Circle has worked to address health equity for vulnerable populations head on, they not only exceeded year-end business projections but were able to scale the company’s unique model, virtually and in person, to remove barriers to quality care.
“During a year that has placed such a substantial pause on physical connections and even tested the limits of our virtual ones, Wider Circle is proud of our contribution to helping to make it easier for neighbors to take care of each other by providing necessary social, health and food resources at the community level throughout the pandemic,” said Moshe Pinto, CEO of Wider Circle. “Now more than ever, remaining connected to others is crucial for the emotional and physical health of our society. While 2020 has exposed the flaws in our way of thinking about healthcare, it has also brought to light the power and impact of community care programs like Wider Circle.”
Wider Circle’s 2020 highlights include:
Delivered 180,000 meals: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made the need for social determinants of health (SDOH) resources, including healthy food, even more acute. To address mounting food insecurity, Wider Circle and its partners delivered 180,000 meals and supplies over the past 12 months, which equated to 82 tons of food provided this year.
In April, Wider Circle formed a Community Food Circle partnership and launched a home food delivery service. In June, Wider Circle expanded its Community Food Circle initiative. This expansion served as the foundation for December’s efforts to aid individuals and families in need of healthy meals during the holiday season.
Welcomed 5,000 new members: In 2020, Wider Circle began serving 5,000 new health plan members, which included expansion into the Medicaid market. To empower these individuals to be more proactive about their health during this particularly challenging time of social isolation, Wider Circle outreach specialists conducted 100,000 health welfare check-in calls and volunteers conducted 75,000 buddy calls to ensure for member wellbeing and ongoing program engagement.
Conducted 1,500 virtual health events: To keep members connected and engaged while also observing social distancing best practices to limit the spread of the virus, Wider Circle held 1,500 virtual health events this year. At the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wider Circle quickly and seamlessly migrated its in-person Connect for Life® program model to an online format, which included creating new capabilities for supporting vulnerable populations in isolation like virtual home visit initiatives, weekly programming covering health and well-being topics, buddy call programs and the new Community Food Circle project.
Grew the executive team: As the company intends to expand its business exponentially to support the needs of both Medicare and Medicaid populations, Wider Circle made significant technology and talent investments to scale its solutions. In 2020, Wider Circle grew the executive leadership team by adding a new chief marketing officer and chief growth officer.
“2020 has proven to be an unprecedented time in healthcare, requiring payers to seek new and innovative ways to engage members and support them on their journey to better health,” said Darin Buxbaum, president and chief operating officer, Wider Circle. “Wider Circle is proud of how quickly we were able to adapt our Connect for Life® program model to support a new social reality while still continuing to meet the needs of the vulnerable populations that we are dedicated to serving. As we enter 2021, the team looks forward to scaling our programs and services even further to provide the critical support and social connectedness that is so important to maintaining one’s wellbeing.”
About Wider Circle
Wider Circle works with health plans nationally to deliver unique community care programs that connect neighbors for better health. Centered on trusted relationships, Wider Circle connects health plan members with familiar neighbors to inform, support and motivate one another, empowering them to be more proactive about their health. Wider Circle’s trusted delivery network has been proven to drive resilience, improve member experience and engagement and reduce hospitalizations. Today, Wider Circle offers its unique neighborhood care programs to more than 135 communities nationwide, including specialized COVID-19 support for vulnerable populations in isolation via virtual programming and peer-to-peer community support. To learn more, please visit www.widercircle.com.
