VCU Mobile Health and Wellness Program Honored with 2026 Premier Cares Award and $100,000 Donation for Improving Health in Underserved Communities

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — October 8, 2026 — The VCU Mobile Health and Wellness Program (MHWP), a nurse-led initiative delivering preventive and chronic care services directly to underserved communities across Virginia, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Premier Cares Award. As part of this recognition, the Virginia Commonwealth University initiative will receive a $100,000 cash prize from Premier, Inc., a leading technology-driven healthcare improvement company.

The Premier Cares Award is sponsored by Premier and its alliance of hospitals, health systems and other providers and organizations. It is presented to recognize and further the mission of standalone community agencies and health organizations that are improving the lives of the medically underserved.

For more than a decade, MHWP has worked to make healthcare more accessible by bringing services directly into trusted community settings where people live and work. Serving urban centers in Richmond and Petersburg as well as seven other rural communities across Virginia, from Tappahannock to South Hill, the program provides longitudinal care focused on prevention, chronic disease management, wellness coaching and care coordination.

“Improving health requires meeting people where they are and addressing the barriers that can prevent them from accessing the care and resources they need,” said Bruce Radcliff, President of Supply Chain Servies at Premier. “The VCU Mobile Health and Wellness Program demonstrates how trusted relationships, preventive care and innovative approaches to nutrition and chronic disease management can help people live healthier lives while reducing avoidable hospital utilization.

“We are proud to recognize and support their work through the Premier Cares Award.”

MHWP also addresses social drivers that can make it difficult for individuals to manage their health, including food insecurity and access to vision and oral health services. Its Prescription Produce Program integrates nutrition support directly into clinical care, pairing regular wellness visits and personalized coaching with bi-weekly access to nutritious foods for participants managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and othercardiovascular diseases.

“There is so much need in the communities we serve, and this recognition means a great deal to our team and our community partners,” said Lana Sargent, Director of Mobile Health and Wellness Program and Associate Dean for Practice and Community Engagement at VCU School of Nursing. “This work is about meeting people where they are, building relationships and helping them overcome the barriers that can make it difficult to stay healthy.

“The Premier Cares Award will help us continue that work and reach more people with the care, resources and support they need to improve their health.”

The approach is producing measurable results. MHWP reports a 37 percent reduction in emergency department visits and hospitalizations among program participants, along with improvements in food and nutrition security, increased fruit and vegetable consumption and clinically meaningful reductions in blood glucose among participants with diabetes. The program has served more than 3,000 individuals across urban and rural Virginia while also providing community-based clinical experiences for thousands of interprofessional healthcare students.

MHWP plans to use the $100,000 award to expand and sustain its Food Is Medicine and hospital-avoidance strategies across Virginia. Funding will support expansion of the Prescription Produce Program as well as mobile clinic operations and supplies needed to deliver preventive and chronic care services directly in community settings.

The program collaborates with healthcare and community partners across its service area, including VCU Health Richmond, VCU Health Tappahannock, VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital in South Hill and Capital Area Health Network. Its nurse-led, interprofessional model also incorporates healthcare students and educators, helping expand the program’s capacity while exposing future healthcare professionals to community-based needs and care.

A panel of national healthcare leaders selects the Premier Cares Award winner each year. The program spotlights community-based healthcare initiatives and helps other organizations learn to replicate successful approaches. The award also provides funding support to help winners advance their programs and services.

Premier has presented the Cares Award annually since 1991. Award nominations are open to nonprofit organizations that have been operational for more than two years, are providing creative solutions to health status improvement, can provide documentation of outcomes and impact on a specific population, and have programs that can be replicated in other communities.

Representatives from the VCU Mobile Health and Wellness Program accepted the Cares Award and the $100,000 cash prize October 8 in front of national healthcare leaders on the main stage at Breakthroughs 26, Premier’s annual conference and exhibition. This year’s event is hosted at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

Learn more about the VCU Mobile Health and Wellness Program here.

About Premier, Inc. 

Premier, Inc. is a leading technology-driven healthcare improvement company. Playing a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, Premier unites providers, suppliers and payers to make healthcare better with national scale, smarter with actionable intelligence and faster with novel technologies. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier offers integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, advisory services and other solutions in service of our mission to improve the health of communities. Please visit Premier’s news site at www.premierinc.com; as well as X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Premier’s blog for more information about the Company.

Contact: Public_Relations@premierinc.com