Hero Partners with Protect Native Elders to Offer Aging Native Americans a New Way to Stay on Track with Medication Adherence

Hero, the market leader in medication management, today announces it has partnered with Protect Native Elders, a grassroots organization that provides rapid support to Native American communities in COVID-19 hotspots, to bring healthcare technology to the Navajo Nation free of charge.

“We founded Protect Native Elders to uplift health and well-being among marginalized communities that are severely under-resourced,” says Dmitri Novomeiski, co-founder Protect Native Elders. “Partnerships and initiatives with organizations like Hero help address this resource imbalance.”

“With Hero’s donation, we will be able to provide elders in need of additional updated solutions for managing medications and helping them avoid unnecessary hospital visits,” adds Valerie Tsosie, Protect Native Elders distribution lead and eldercare advisor. 

This partnership unites the two organizations with a mutual purpose to address illness perceptions and treatment, and ultimately cultivate prevention. Hero’s donation will cover 100% of subscription costs for three years, providing 50 Navajo Nation members with its full suite of features, including a smart pill dispenser, medication management app, automatic prescription refill and delivery and 24/7 live support. Hero subscription also includes caregiver features, including alerts if a loved one misses a dose.

“Hero was founded on the premise of removing barriers — costs, access, human behavior, policies, etc. — that get in between people and their health,” says Kal Vepuri, founder and CEO of Hero. “We’re proud to partner with Protect Native Elders in their mission to provide rapid relief support to indigenous communities fighting COVID-19 and believe that our donation can extend this approach to members of Navajo Nation.” 

The Navajo Nation has long experienced significant barriers to healthcare — largely due to chronic underfunding and a lack of access to resources. The pandemic further exacerbated these issues, with the Navajo tribe having faced some of the highest rates in the US. In a recent study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the COVID-19 death rate was highest among American Indian or Alaska Native persons — more than any other ethnic group in the United States. 

“As a family caregiver, my biggest concern is helping my brother-in-law Lee stay healthy through accountability,” said Roselinda, a Navajo Nation resident and caregiver. “Hero gives me the peace of mind to know that he is on track and has the freedom to live without the stress of remembering to take his medication.” 

In conjunction with this initiative, So’ Tsoh Foundation conducted a survey amongst seniors and caregivers in the community that found both elders and caregivers have felt more socially isolated since the COVID-19 pandemic began — 82% and 66% respectively. Additionally, despite 3 out of 4 caregivers reporting their stress level was impacted by caring for a loved one during the pandemic, 75% did not hire or ask for additional help to care for their loved one. Moreover, 76% of elders take more than three medications a day and 23.5% of those elders take more than six medications a day.

To accommodate Navajo Nation caregivers and elders struggling with stress and juggling multiple medications, Hero provided a practical medication management solution.

The struggle to manage medications touches nearly everyone taking prescription drugs. On average, only half of medications are taken as prescribed, according to the CDC. Not taking prescriptions as directed, known as medication nonadherence, accounts for an estimated 125,000 premature deaths in the U.S. and as much as $300 billion in avoidable healthcare costs. In comparison, Hero members have achieved a median adherence rate of 98% — a rate that Hero hopes to bring about for members of the Navajo Nation.

To learn more about Hero or become a member, visit HeroHealth.com today.

About Hero
Hero is the first and only in-home medication management service. The Hero smart dispenser intuitively sorts and dispenses medication, has audible and digital reminders, automates refills, and provides real-time as well as historical adherence data at your fingertips. Led by CEO Kal Vepuri, a seed-stage advisor and angel investor in over 175 companies such as Oscar, Clover and Quip, Hero was founded to be the world’s most people-focused health care company by creating frictionless solutions to the most challenging problems facing patients and caregivers.

Since launching in 2018, Hero has dispensed over 50M pills in every U.S. state. Hero is registered with the U.S. FDA as a medical device and has become a trusted partner in a person’s health journey. The service is popular among members with heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, cancer, MS, mental health conditions, Parkinson’s, and other chronic ailments that require complicated medication regimens.

For more information or to subscribe today, visit herohealth.com. 

About Protect Native Elders
Protect Native Elders is a national Native-led inter-tribal organization providing rapid support to Native American communities in their response to COVID-19. The all-volunteer team is focused on PPE and critical supply relief, advocacy programs, and initiatives, such as food and water, to support indigenous sovereignty. Since its founding in late March 2020, Protect Native Elders has distributed more than $1,300,000 in supplies to more than 70 tribal communities across the continent. Learn more at protectnativeelders.org.
 

Contact Information

Ryan Sit

PR for Hero

VSC for Hero

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