Health & Healthcare

In the early 1980s, Cliff Morrison did what no other San Francisco General Hospital staff member had the guts to do: come up with a humane way to treat and care for AIDS patients. We sat down with him to learn more about the life-changing initiative—and how the legacy of Ward 5B lives on.

Aflac has been a supporter of Beads of Courage, a nonprofit international organization helping children chronicle their unique stories using beads during their cancer treatment. Each one represents a specific treatment that a child received or a milestone crossed throughout their journey. Children recently received new beads, including a My Special Aflac Duck® bead honoring their courage during treatments.

Four years after Jim Ryan became quadriplegic, HOOBOX Robotics is using Intel artificial intelligence to help the disability advocate and blogger find new ways to get around by using facial expressions to operate his wheelchair.

At Alexion, people with rare and devastating diseases are our inspiration. We know that beginning with their first symptoms through an often long path to diagnosis and treatment, living with a rare disease is a sobering new normal to navigate while managing other life priorities.

At the delivery event, attendees were treated to a demonstration of My Special Aflac Duck, highlighting how it will help comfort children and serve as a tool for health care professionals to use with their patients. After the demonstration, children and their parents went on a fun scavenger hunt, finding clues and visiting various locations throughout the oncology unit, eventually leading them to the discovery of their very own My Special Aflac Duck®.

Every day, the healthcare industry processes massive amounts of data. To assess patients and provide treatments, doctors and physicians have to sift through it all, from patient history to genetic and environmental factors. But big data and technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are changing how information is stored – the volume of it – and how it is shared and analyzed.

Health inequality is a growing concern in Canada and the United States.1 Where you live can play a big part, especially for those living in remote communities, but so can employment status, income level, gender and ethnicity. And in turn, there is a link between the state of your health and your finances. The cost of care, the ability to carry a job or to participate in society can have health impacts.

Through our partnership with Telethon Speech & Hearing, we’ve helped to significantly reduce the number of harmful ear conditions among Aboriginal children, improving school readiness and engagement across the West Pilbara. Since our partnership began in 2011, the number of Aboriginal children under the age of seven affected by middle ear diseases in the Pilbara has dropped from 51% to 33%, an outstanding milestone that has produced meaningful impact. Almost 9,000 screenings have been conducted through the Chevron Pilbara Ear Health Program...

Consumer demand for healthier products continues to grow. With concerns ranging from the cost of healthcare to the effects of food and agriculture on climate change, consumers of all ages are opting for natural, organic and functional foods and beverages, nutritional supplements, natural medicines and other eco-friendly products from mission-based companies that share their values and address their concerns.