To help address the serious shortage of critical personal protection equipment needed by frontline health professional responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) is spending $2.2 million to donate 467,000 N95 respirator masks and 81,000 face shields to Governor Murphy’s coordinated response effort. The first shipment of these critical supplies is expected to be delivered to the State for distribution beginning next week with additional deliveries planned throughout April. The Company is also donating $100,000 to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and $60,000 to the Jewish Family Service of Atlantic and Cape May, two organizations who are responding to the needs of New Jerseyans feeling the economic impact of the pandemic.
“Supporting the health and well-being of New Jersey’s communities has been central to Horizon’s mission for 88 years,” said Kevin P. Conlin, Horizon BCBSNJ’s Chairman, President, and CEO. “Our communities and our health care system are facing extraordinary challenges and Horizon is responding to support New Jersey’s vital organizations and health care professionals. We are working closely with the many community organizations we support across the state to ensure they can continue delivering the essential services that so many depend on and meet the new demands created by the pandemic.”
“The heroes working the front lines in New Jersey hospitals put their own health at risk to care for New Jerseyans diagnosed with COVID-19, but they cannot do that without adequate personal protection equipment. Horizon has always worked to give New Jersey’s hospitals and doctors the tools they need to deliver the best care for our members, whether that be advanced data to help them make better decisions or this essential equipment needed to protect them while they work,” added Allen Karp, Horizon BCBSNJ’s Executive Vice President for Healthcare Management and Transformation. “We will continue to support New Jersey’s communities, our State leaders and our health system partners to help ensure that New Jerseyans get the care they need, when they need it.”
Horizon BCBSNJ and its philanthropic arm, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, have contributed more than $80 million to New Jersey’s community organizations and causes since 2004.
About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state's oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, vision and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving approximately 3.4 million members.