About the Awards
Ten years ago, DentaQuest launched the Health Equity Hero Awards in an effort to shed light on health disparities common across many communities. While health inequity remains a serious issue in our country, DentaQuest, part of Sun Life U.S., is laser-focusing its efforts on supporting access to care, an essential ingredient to ensure health equity. To better reflect this focus, and HOW both DentaQuest and Sun Life aim to improve health equity, we are renaming the Health Equity Hero Awards to the Health Access Hero Awards.
Since 2015, we’ve honored 80 heroes and donated $280,000 to nearly 100 nonprofit organizations. Heroes can be individuals or organizations working on any health access issue, from oral health to diabetes management, social determinants of health, mental health and general medical care.
What is health care access?
Access takes many shapes. It can mean needing transportation to and from a medical appointment. Or ensuring anyone with disabilities can safely enter and receive care. It’s the number of care providers available in a given population and making sure everyone has benefits or insurance coverage to receive care, or financial support for any non-covered care. Access is also about education and awareness of chronic disease management, wellness and nutrition, including good health habits, and true understanding in every community of the impact consistent health care can have over a lifetime.
Health Access Grant Program
We also actively work to enable access through the Sun Life Health Access grant program (formerly Team Up Against Diabetes grant program) that supports nonprofit organizations and health programs with grants up to $100,000. Learn more about our Health Access grant program.
Oral Health News & Resources
PREVENTISTRY PULSE
The newsletter designed for anyone who wants to improve oral health for themselves, their families, customers or communities.