BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) was the recent recipient of a grant from C & S Wholesale Grocers. This grant was designed to assist in covering health care costs for those patients with inadequate or no insurance, and whose income is at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines for their family size.
In Vermont, 53 percent of underinsured people and 68 percent of uninsured people, when sick, go without needed health care. Fourteen percent of Vermonters between the ages of 19 and 64 are underinsured, carrying health insurance with very high co-pays.
Food insecurity and lack of medical care are two societal problems which frequently occur together. Many low-income Vermonters have to make difficult decisions between receiving medical care and paying for necessities, such as food.
Through partnerships with area businesses, and with the generosity of many in the greater Brattleboro area, BMH is able to help patients free up financial resources to use on other necessities. In fiscal year 2010, BMH provided over 1,700 patients with over $1.5 million in free care.
C & S Wholesale Grocers, based in Keene, N.H., is the largest food wholesaler and, according to Forbes magazine, the 10th largest privately held company in the United States. The company currently employs more than 500 people in its Brattleboro grocery and frozen foods warehouse.