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Hospitality House of Tulsa awarded Blue Impact℠ grant to help assist patients and their families with expenses as they travel for access to medical care

TULSA, Okla. — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) recently awarded $935,000 in Blue Impact grants to 27 nonprofits addressing social and economic factors that play a role in health and wellness across Oklahoma.

One of these organizations, Hospitality House of Tulsa, is helping those facing financial burdens while traveling for medical care through its new Lodgingly program. Tulsa receives more than 25,000 patients a year who must travel to access medical care. The Blue Impact grant will create in-person education and training materials for medical providers in Oklahoma who refer patients to Tulsa for medical care. It will also use technology to help educate patients and family caregivers seeking affordable lodging options in Tulsa by using mobile to social communication and search engine options.  

“Traveling for medical care is no vacation, but traveling patients and family caregivers are only given vacation-level lodging rates at a time when they also have increased costs for groceries, fuel and housing,” said Hospitality House of Tulsa CEO Toni Moore. “Many of them struggle with being able to afford the additional expenses of traveling to have access to health care. Our Lodgingly program saves families up to 25% of what they would normally spend on out-of-pocket expenses. The Blue Impact grant will allow families to know about our services before their medical appointments and take advantage of the significant savings and benefits found in our Lodgingly program.”  

Since 2011, Blue Impact grants, formerly known as Healthy Kids, Healthy Families®, have supported nonprofit organizations that provide health-related services with proven, sustainable and measurable programs. The funding supports programs that reach children and their families in five key areas: economic opportunity and stability, neighborhood and built environment, nutrition, locally defined health solutions and optimal health outcomes. 

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About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is the only statewide customer-owned health insurer in Oklahoma. We believe Oklahoma consumers and employers deserve the best of both worlds: access to affordable, quality health care and top-notch service from a company that focuses solely on customers, not shareholders. Customer value is our cornerstone. We are proud of the work we have done within our communities by helping to change the way we all live. Thanks to our more than 800,000 members, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is able to focus on the health issues that impact our members as well as all Oklahomans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Media Contact

Jenny Lee
918-724-6082
Jenny_Lee@bcbsok.com