History

Founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhummad Yunus, Grameen PrimaCare was launched in 2013 to improve the health of immigrant women in the US, under the guidance of founding Board Member, Allison Schwartz. 

Our first pilot program, Grameen VidaSana, launched in Queens, NY in September 2014. By capitalizing on the highly successful Grameen “group model,” and combining it with a comprehensive approach to health care, we provided our members with access to enhanced primary care services, group activities, health education, and a variety of discounted services. After nearly six years of creating a unique and welcoming community, the VidaSana program closed in July 2020.

Based on lessons learned from Grameen VidaSana, our second pilot program, Grameen Promotoras, launched in the South Bronx in September 2016. Our “Promotoras” — the Spanish term for “community health workers” — provide Grameen America borrowers with basic health screenings, emotional support, preventive health education, and health system navigation and support. The second location of the Promotoras Program launched in January 2021, followed by a third and fourth locations in Charlotte, North Carolina in October 2021. We launched our fifth program location in Connecticut in Spring 2022, and a sixth location in Upper Manhattan/Inwood in Winter 2023. Our most recent program site was launched in Los Angeles (Pico Union) in Spring 2023. We are currently serving over 25,000 women across our Grameen America branch locations.

The Grameen Promotoras program hopes to improve the health and well-being of participants by increasing their knowledge and awareness of health-related topics to benefit themselves, their families, and their businesses.

In June 2023, Grameen PrimaCare ceased as its own separate entity when it was officially acquired by its sister organization, Grameen America, through resolutions approved by the Boards of Directors at both organizations.

The Grameen Family

Grameen Promotoras is just one program of a large family of Grameen projects around the globe which all grew out of Professor Yunus’ first poverty fighting endeavor, Grameen Bank.

Grameen Bank (Grameen means “rural” or “village” in Bangla language) was founded in Bangladesh in 1976 by Professor Yunus with the goal of creating opportunities for poor and disadvantaged women to help reverse the vicious cycle of poverty.

Grameen America was launched in 2008 in the United States with those same goals and now serves more than 89,580 women, helping them alleviate poverty through micro-finance. The Grameen model, refined over decades of testing, requires individuals to form groups and meet weekly. We are utilizing these same concepts as we create a “culture of health” that can measurably improve the health outcomes for our members.