Iowa Total Care, a Medicaid managed care provider, has given $10,000 to the Broadlawns Medical Center Foundation to support the Broadlawns First Book Program, which ensures every child cared for at Broadlawns receives a new, age-appropriate book. Iowa Total Care’s gift will provide 6,000 new books to the program. The gift also covers an expansion of the program to ensure books are purchased that demonstrate inclusivity, empower women and feature characters that positively reflect Broadlawns’ diverse patient base. The book program was designed in 2013 by Broadlawns physicians to address a gap they were seeing in their pediatric patients’ access to educational and literacy tools, a key social determinant of health. Studies show that individuals with higher levels of education are healthier and live longer. More than 19,600 books have been distributed over the past eight years. “Iowa Total Care is honored to support Broadlawns Medical Center, which is a critical resource to children and families in our community,” said Mitch Wasden, Iowa Total Care’s plan president and CEO. Iowa Total Care is a subsidiary of Centene Corp., a publicly traded health insurance company based in St. Louis.