Innovators Awards - 2024

Jegede led the development of a project aimed at addressing the life expectancy gap for people living in areas serviced by Greensboro, North Carolina-based Cone Health. The initiative, “CATCH 5 in 5,” seeks to extend expectancy in those regions by five years within five years — in partnership with communities and local organizations — through wellness events and the health system’s mobile medicine unit. At the first event, about 800 attendees were screened for chronic diseases, cancer and social determinants of health and 130 completed wellness surveys, leading to individualized care protocols for some patients with high blood pressure. The organization also gave away more than 1,000 pounds of food.