Quest Diagnostics Foundation Commits Nearly $5 Million to Improving Health Outcomes and Food Security in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Funding granted to four local organizations -- Florida International University Foundation, Urban Health Partnerships, The Health Council of South, and U.S. Hunger -- with goal to reach up to 15,000 residents over a 2-year period

Miami, FL - June 29, 2026 - - The Quest Diagnostics Foundation today announced it has awarded nearly $5 million in grant funding to four local non-profit organizations as part of an initiative to improve chronic and maternal health outcomes in Miami-Dade County. Quest Diagnostics is a leading national provider of diagnostic information services and provides laboratory testing for millions of Floridians each year from major laboratories in Miami and Tampa.

Over a two-year period, the Foundation's initiative will focus on expanding access to healthcare and support services to 15,000 Miami-Dade County residents in vulnerable communities. As part of the grants, Quest Diagnostics will provide no-cost laboratory testing for up to 3,000 residents to help identify risks of chronic diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease, in early, often asymptomatic stages-the critical window when behavior changes or medical treatment can arrest disease progression. Using the grants from the Quest Diagnostics Foundation, four nonprofit organizations will provide access for high-risk individuals to training for Community Health Workers (CHWs) and doulas as well as to nutritious food, benefits enrollment support and other services through nearly 30 health education and community events, mobile clinics and other channels. Grantees also aim to improve shared data access to help communities measure health impacts and build a scalable, sustainable model.

"Miami-Dade is one of our nation's most vibrant counties, and yet people across the community need support to improve their health proactively, not only during sickness," said Subu Ramachandran, President, Southeast Region, for Quest Diagnostics. "This initiative empowers vulnerable Miami-Dade residents to identify their personal health risks and-supported by local partners and Quest donated testing-take proactive steps toward healthier lives."

While Miami-Dade fares better overall than the average county in Florida and nationally for population health and wellbeing, conditions vary across the county. In some communities, nearly 30% of residents report they are in poor health and over 12% of mothers report receiving late to no prenatal care.

The funding from the Quest Diagnostics Foundation is part of a multi-year initiative to commit grants to non-profit organizations focused on investing in community health workforce and improving cardiometabolic and maternal health outcomes in select U.S. cities. In recent years, the Foundation has committed approximately $21.5 million in grants to local nonprofits for similar programs in Baltimore, Maryland, Houston, Texas, Chicago, Illinois and Paterson, New Jersey.

"The Quest Diagnostics Foundation is honored to collaborate with organizations dedicated to tackling the root causes of health disparities across Miami-Dade County," said Alicia E. Meadows, Executive Director, Programs, Quest Diagnostics Foundation. "Our goal for this initiative is to mitigate social drivers of complex health conditions, expand access to healthcare, and ultimately help more of the community of Miami-Dade transform their lives and health for the better."

The Quest Diagnostics Foundation selected the collaborators for the Miami-Dade County initiative based on several criteria, including commitment to the region, alignment with community health needs and proven ability to collaborate effectively with healthcare providers and local community organizations and coalitions focused on improving health outcomes.

Funding recipients:

Florida International University Foundation
FIU Foundation, through the Quest Diagnostics Foundation grant will enable critical staffing and additional mobile units to provide midwifery services across maternal health deserts in Miami-Dade County, expanding capacity and access to quality prenatal and postnatal care for the Black Mothers Care Plan. A key goal is to decrease rates of cesarean birth to less than 30% of participating women.

"This Quest Diagnostics Foundation grant will empower us to work with community partners to implement practical solutions for maternity ward closures, transportation challenges and lack of insurance coverage, in Miami-Dade," said M. Alexandra Cornelius, Ph. D. director with the School of Integrated Science and Humanity, College of Arts, Sciences and Education at Florida International University. "Through collaboration, we can expand our efforts to provide high-quality, mobile, community-based maternal health care, no-cost testing, and perinatal education to communities that need it the most."

The Health Council of South Florida
The not-for-profit organization, which focuses on mitigating health disparities in Miami-Dade County, will use the Quest Diagnostics Foundation's grant to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative to guide future investments to advance maternal outcomes and manage chronic cardiometabolic conditions across Miami-Dade County.

"The Health Council of South Florida is honored to serve as the evaluation partner for transformative community initiatives supported by the Quest Diagnostics Foundation," said Nicole A. Marriott, President & CEO for HCSF. "Through rigorous, equity-focused analysis of food access, maternal health, chronic disease prevention, and diagnostic connectivity efforts, we will measure impact, strengthen coordination, and help ensure measurable improvements in health outcomes for residents across Miami-Dade County."

Urban Health Partnerships
As the nonprofit coordinating agency of the Food and Nutrition for All Collaborative (FNFA) in Miami-Dade, Urban Health Partnerships actively works to improve not only food and nutrition access, but also health outcomes and living conditions across South Florida. With Quest Diagnostics Foundation funding, UHP will strengthen the governance and shared data infrastructure of FNFA, support mini-grants for up to 16 grassroots and community organizations that connect people to food and nutrition in Miami-Dade County, and develop 24 community wellness day events.

"Food access is not just about distribution; it's about coordination, access, dignity, trust, and the environments where families live and thrive," said Arely Lozano Cantú, Director of Health Access and Livability at Urban Health Partnerships. "With this Quest investment, we will strengthen the infrastructure that empowers communities across Southeast Florida to access nutritious, local, and affordable food options, which is so critical to improving health and wellbeing."

U.S. Hunger
U.S. Hunger is a nonprofit leveraging data, technology, and community activation to address food insecurity and related health needs across the United States. With the Quest Diagnostics Foundation funding, U.S. Hunger will deploy its AI-powered Full Cart Connect Platform to identify and direct support across the initiative's collaborating organizations to households in need throughout the region.

"U.S. Hunger believes that local community organizations are the backbone of a strong, connected care ecosystem. We look forward to deploying the Quest Diagnostics Foundation grant to enable our Full Cart Connect platform to use the power of data sharing to unlock opportunities to help families access food, health care, and diagnostics through trusted local partners," said Rick Whitted, CEO of U.S. Hunger.

About the Quest Diagnostics Foundation
The Quest Diagnostics Foundation is a nonprofit Section 501(c)(3) corporation committed to improving health and well-being in the communities served by Quest Diagnostics. Since 2021 the Foundation has invested approximately $53 million in community initiatives across the United States and Puerto Rico spanning a broad range of evidence-based strategies, including community health worker care, expanded access to diagnostic testing, wellness and screening events, nutritious food access and education programs that promote long-term health and prevention.

About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics works across healthcare to create a healthier world, one life at a time. We help connect people, from clinicians to consumers, with laboratory insights that illuminate a path to better health. With a focus on delivering smarter, simpler testing, our insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve healthcare management. Quest Diagnostics serves half the physicians and hospitals in the United States and one in three adult Americans each year, and our nearly 57,000 employees work together to deliver diagnostic insights that inspire actions to transform lives.

Quest Diagnostics provides a range of innovative testing services to patients and providers in Florida every day through its full-service laboratories in Miami and Tampa and a network of approximately 250 patient service centers across the state. The company is also a major state employer, with approximately 4,400 employees in Florida. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.

Media Contacts:
Amanda Rivera, Quest Diagnostics
[email protected]
(973) 520-2800