It is our responsibility to use our role in the healthcare business to help tear down the disparities that keep all patients from receiving the healthcare they deserve. Through webinars, community involvement, partnerships, hands-on volunteering, and more, we are committed to doing our part to make healthcare more accessible to all.
Indy Fresh Market, a new full-service grocery store that Cook is building, is being constructed near our new manufacturing facility at 38th Street and Sheridan Avenue in Indianapolis, with expected completion in July of 2022. Not only will the store provide additional jobs and future educational opportunities for residents, but it will also bring a much-needed food source to the community. Currently, there is no supermarket for miles in any direction, and many area residents do not own vehicles to travel outside their neighborhood. To help make groceries accessible to all residents, the market will accept most government food assistance programs (such as WIC and SNAP), as well as local programs, such as Fresh Bucks Indy.
Access to fresh food is essential to our health, and not having that access negatively affects our health.
People of color and those living in rural populations experience vast and alarming differences in access to healthcare and quality of treatment. One example of inequity and lack of adequate medical treatment is the high rate of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in Black and Hispanic patients. More than 8 million Americans1 are affected by PAD. If left untreated, PAD can lead to gangrene, diabetic foot ulcers, and amputation. According to a study by Eraso et al,2 PAD occurs at the highest rate in non-Hispanic Black women 70+ years (25.3%), non-Hispanic Black women with chronic kidney disease (21.7%), and Mexican American men 70+ years (20.85%). To shine a light on this problem and others like it, Cook has launched a Striving for Healthcare Equity webinar series.