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Highmark BCBSWNY Announces $300,000 Investment to Honor Katherine Massey and Support Relief Efforts

In honor of Katherine Massey, BCBS Retiree Who Dedicated 40-Years to Health Plan, Scholarship will be Provided to a Buffalo Public Schools Student

Date:
May 24, 2022

Buffalo, NY – To support local relief efforts and honor the victims of the tragic shootings at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo last weekend, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York today announced a $300,000 investment to support all those impacted, as well as the greater community. 

“We are heartbroken over the lives lost at the hands of racism and violence and pray for their families, friends, and neighbors,” said Dr. Michael Edbauer, President, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York. “It is with especially heavy hearts that we remember Katherine ‘Kat’ Massey, who as our long-time colleague dedicated four decades to serving our Blue Cross Blue Shield members.”

In memory of Kat Massey’s legacy, the local health insurer is awarding a grant to We Are Women Warriors, a non-profit organization she co-founded, dedicated to aiding inner-city residents in socioeconomic, educational, environmental, and criminal justice.  To also memorialize her life-long contributions to the betterment of Buffalo Public Schools, HMBCBSWNY is creating a scholarship fund for a BPS student. 

“Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York remains committed to supporting our community through this tragic time, while we honor the lives and legacies of those we lost,” Edbauer added. “This is particularly close to our hearts, and to our company, because Kat Massey was one of those we lost, and she worked with us for 40 years.”

The local health plan is also:

This emergency funding for the grant and the scholarship are in addition to the $7 million a year the health insurer dedicated in 2022 to hundreds of non-profit organizations, especially those working to improve the social determinants of health in the community.