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Removing barriers to quality care: the inspiration behind our new mission video 

At BlueCross, we believe everyone deserves equal access to high-quality health care. This notion of striving toward health equity informs every aspect of how we serve our members and fellow Tennesseans.  

Through our annual health equity report, we create awareness on how health care needs and opportunities differ across regions and racial and ethnic groups. That means we need data that reflects not only who our members are, but their needs and their challenges, as well.

Understanding this data helps support progress that will ultimately deliver better health for everyone, regardless of their background. 

To create a visual representation of how we use that data as part of our everyday work, we captured perspectives from the following employees: 

  • Christian Gonzalez, senior care technical team expert  
  • Neda Long, strategy and innovation director 
  • Alisha Moore, Total Health Management programs and operations manager 

Meeting our members where they are 

Our new mission video features these employees and many of our members on site at a BlueCare Tennessee healthy cooking class at Chattanooga’s Sweet and Savory Classroom, a Matter of Balance class for seniors at our Cameron Hill headquarters, and within our Blue of Tennessee primary care centers across the state, among other locations. 

“Health equity means, to me, ensuring that everyone, no matter what they look like, where they come from, has the opportunity to have quality health care, have the opportunity to remove the barriers that may be keeping them from getting the health care that they need,” Alisha says in the video.

“What makes my work meaningful is being able to help members who are just like me,”  she adds. “They’re the working population, they’re busy with their children, they’re parents, [and] they’re now caregivers.” 

Here’s a glimpse into the work employees like Alisha do every day: 

Our mission moving forward 

Though our mission video provides a glimpse into how health equity drives our services, our work toward our next health equity report continues through: 

  • Expanding data collection, enabling us to better understand disparities here in Tennessee and tailor our services accordingly 
  • Assessing ongoing disparities by scrutinizing our policies and operations to close gaps in care and address inequities 
  • Building capacity, empowering our workforce to reduce health disparities through continued training and education 

That empowerment starts with ensuring our employees understand how vital they are to our mission. 

“One of the most important things we do is show up as our full selves in the workplace,” Neda shares in the video. “And we create an environment where others can do the same. There’s a heartfelt connection in all these member interactions.  To be able to contribute to our mission of peace of mind, it’s really a privilege and it makes my work very meaningful.” 

About Jesse Thompson, Senior Communications Specialist

A photo of the authorJesse joined the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee corporate communications team in 2017. A Chattanooga native, he has more than 15 years’ experience in content creation, management, and strategy for consumer audiences, including a six-year stint in health care marketing.

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