(BUFFALO, N.Y. ) – The Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network (GBUAHN) teamed up with WIVB-TV News4 on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 to host a telethon for victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The telethon yielded more than $36,500 in donations for those who were forced to flee their homes due to the natural disaster.

Volunteers from GBUAHN and members of the Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Fund answered close to 1,000 calls from donors. WIVB-TV reporter/anchors Christy Kern and Nalina Shapiro provided live televised updates throughout the event, and interviewed GBUAHN Chief Executive Officer Dr. Raul Vazquez several times during the telethon.

“It’s not like ‘oh this happened, things are better.’ Things are still not good,” said Dr. Vazquez during News4’s 6:00 p.m. broadcast. “And a lot of these people are coming (to Buffalo), so that’s what we’re doing here – trying to support them.”

Dr. Vazquez and GBUAHN Chief Systems Officer Toni Vazquez (on behalf of the Raul and Toni Vazquez Foundation) donated a total of $1,500. All of the funds raised in the telethon will go to Hurricane Maria survivors who are resettling in Buffalo and Western New York and will be used toward housing, furniture, clothing, appliances, etc.

Those who did not get a chance to donate during the telethon may do so by visiting the Go-Fund-Me page www.gofundme.com/prreliefwny

Founded in 2013, the Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network (GBUAHN) is a health home established under the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Health homes coordinate care for people with Medicaid who have chronic health conditions or who are at risk for developing chronic health conditions. This free service integrates all primary care, acute, behavioral health and long-term services and supports to treat the whole person. Each person who joins gets a patient health navigator (PHN). A PHN is a case manager who works closely with the patient to get him/her the services he/she needs in the community.

GBUAHN’s mission is to remove the barriers created by social determinants in underserved communities.

GBUAHN’s vision is to become the health home of choice for our chosen marketplace.

For more information about GBUAHN, please visit www.gbuahn.org

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