Leadership View

From Our President

Here are just a few highlights:

We continued our collaboration with the National Fitness Campaign to commit another nearly half a million dollars toward our goal of 40 outdoor fitness courts in communities across Texas to reduce barriers to physical and mental health. What better way to support optimal health outcomes than with free, accessible exercise space and structures for people of all ages and ability levels.

We also dedicated substantial investments and resources to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies through our evolved Special Beginnings^® initiative to increase access to care, reduce care gaps, and educate and engage residents on a community level. Building on our legacy of maternal and infant health programs and community investments, we’re scaling our collaborations with trusted community organizations and partners to leverage their knowledge, experience and talents on a local level to help support healthier communities.

Supported by BCBSTX, The Caring Foundation of Texas — through their signature mobile Care Van^® and newest CareVan@School^SM programs — provided more than 131,400 various preventive health services, including immunizations and dental and kidney screenings, impacting more than 89,900 children and adults throughout the state.

Through various grants, BCBSTX awarded nearly $3 million to 101 community-based organizations to help all Texans achieve optimal health outcomes and impact more than 355,000 million people. Our 2023 grant recipients are increasing access to care, reducing

hunger and addressing social determinants of health including education, employment and mental health needs.

We also hosted internship programs with Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep and Paul Quinn College to assist students in building professional, technical and soft skills in a corporate environment to further their career paths.

What really speaks most loudly to our purpose are the efforts you may not have read about in a news release. Our employees volunteered more than 42,000 hours with more than 868 organizations through meal programs, blood drives, winter clothes and toy drives, various collections for families in all stages of life as well as at-risk veterans, assembling blankets and hygiene kits, serving as reading tutors, writing notes to seniors, donating books to hospitals and schools and more. All of this work impacts thousands of families. Employees like Melisa Santoya never stop seeking opportunities to serve those in need, even asking around the office for additional occasions to volunteer and encouraging her peers to join in. We do not let that kind of dedication go unnoticed. With more than 90 hours of service in and around her Abilene, Texas, community, Melisa was named BCBSTX’s 2023 Volunteer of the Year for her impressive dedication to nonprofits including Meals on Wheels, New Horizons and Noah Project.

As we look back to 2023 and onward into 2024, I hope you are as encouraged as I am about the difference we made for our members, customers, employees and communities across our state. We will use this momentum to continue to meet the needs of Texans and remain united in the unwavering belief that by contributing support and outreach, addressing health disparities and striving for more equitable care, we will create a world in which we all thrive.

Sincerely,

James G. Springfield
President, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas