What We Do
Understanding that knowledge is wealth, UFH2020 elected to focus on educating high risk communities on all aspects of COVID-19: the virus, the disease process, testing, vaccines, immunological health (which protects us from infection through various lines of defense) and household and community mitigation strategies. Additionally, after an extensive review of the medical literature, UFH2020 spotlighted the use of Vitamin D3 as a natural and cost-effective way for individuals to optimize their immune system. UFH2020 developed and implemented a COVID-19 Community Suppression Plan which:
1. Engages local leaders (e.g. Mayors, Black Caucus, Pastors, Community Leaders, Community Health Providers) to conduct a needs assessment to identify high risk groups in their community.
2. Assist in developing a strategic plan to disseminate COVID-19 and Vitamin D3 information via printed and electronic FACT sheets and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s), local TV (recorded) interviews, radio, and social media (Facebook and Stream Yard) interviews, panel discussions, and virtual Town Hall meetings.
3. We established a partnership with two CLIA certified labs to provide free COVID-19 tests – PCR, antibody, and antigen – for individuals in the community and for homebound residents.
4. We established partnerships with two IDPH approved vaccine facilities to provide COVID-19 vaccines in the community and for homebound residents.
Our Team
About Kimberly Battle Miller, MD, MS, MBA
Kimberly Battle Miller, MD, MS, MBA. Nearly 30 years in medical practice. Board-certified Palliative Care and Hospice Medical Director, Board-certified Pediatrician, Fellowship-trained Integrative Medicine Attending, Former Pediatric Critical Attending, Masters of Biochemistry, Masters in Business Administration, Owner/Founder of Kimberly Battle-Miller, MD SC (2002), Founder of Non-profit H.O.P.E. International (Helping Others By Providing Education) (2011), and Co-Founder of United For Health 2020 LLC which provides community education regarding current health issue – presently focusing on health benefits of Vitamin D3 and resource for COVID-19 update (the virus, testing, and vaccines).
Member Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and New Faith Baptist Church International (Matteson, IL)
Bhanu Prasad Gadde
PharmD, RPh
Bhanu Prasad Gadde, PharmD, RPh is a pharmacist in New York. He owns and operates 3 pharmacies on Long Island. He is passionate about health and wellness and the body's ability to produce healing if the nutritional needs of the body are properly addressed. His work with vitamin D3 in the area of Covid-19 has resulted in excellent outcomes, as more and more studies are confirming Vitamin D's role in addressing the complications of this disease.
Sellars L. Vines
Sellars L. Vines serves as director of outreach, missions and evangelism at New Faith Baptist Church International and he also serves as V.P. of Strategic Solutions for the Joseph Assignment Global Initiative, Humanitarian/Non-Governmental Organization. He is the owner of Natural Vines LLC and Co-Founder of United For Health 2020 LLC, which provides the global community with education and resources regarding current health issues related to COVID-19 and other diseases, and the role Vitamin D3 plays in addressing the severity of these diseases.
Dr. Fouad Sheriff
Dr. Fouad Sheriff currently serves as a hospitalist at Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg, VA. He gained humanitarian experience serving as a medical missionary in Haiti and Sierra Leone--his native country--and is principally involved with two social entrepreneurial ventures in Sierra Leone currently. He holds a M.D. Doctor of Medicine degree from Saba University, completed his Internal Medicine training at UCLA-Kern Medical Center and received a B.S. in Physician Assistant from Howard University.
Who We Are
United For Health 2020 LLC (UFH2020) is a medical education group established September 30, 2020 in response to the urgent need to disseminate information regarding COVID-19 to communities being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. UFH2020 is a multi-state, multi-discipline collaborative effort between community leader and entrepreneur Rev. Sellars Vines, New York pharmacist Bhanu Prasad Gadde, PharmD, Pennsylvania Internal Medicine physician Fouad Sheriff, MD, and Chicagoland physician-scientist Kimberly Battle-Miller, MD, MS, MBA. Early in the pandemic it was identified that people of color, in particular Blacks and Hispanics were becoming infected with COVID-19, being hospitalized and dying at drastically higher rates.
Researchers confirmed that this was not merely a socioeconomic phenomenon but that many racial and ethnic minorities from varying backgrounds, levels of education, and economic status were being unequally affected. The COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst which amplified existing health inequities that would need to be more appropriately and expeditiously addressed. International research on approaches to prevent and/or treat COVID-19 found a strong association between Vitamin D deficiency and poor outcomes in symptomatic COVID-19 positive individuals.
Observational studies, peer reviewed journal, and randomized control trials reported positive association between correcting Vitamin D deficiency and decreased risk of infection, decreased likelihood of hospitalization, and decrease in the mortality rate of COVID-19 positive individuals. Research has previously documented that greater than 80 percent of people of color are Vitamin D deficient. United For Health 2020 established a comprehensive solution to minimize the impact of COVID-19 in our communities.
Current Outcomes
UFH2020 has created :
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Comprehensive and abbreviated FACT sheets on COVID-19 virus, testing, and vaccination. Electronic documents get updated when the CDC and the scientific community provide new information. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
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Published recordings of live interviews and panel discussions.
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TV recording for local broadcasting. Country Clubs Hill’s Mayor instituted the UFH2020 COVID-19 Suppression Plan – education and Vitamin D3 supplements were distributed to residents of a Senior Living Building and during a Community Holiday Gift Giving Event. Daily TV broadcasts were played on the local channel.
Expected Outcomes
UFH2020’s goal is to assist additional municipalities in implementing the COVID-19 Community Suppression Plan to provide education and resources for COVID-19 testing and vaccines and Vitamin D3 testing and supplements, to residents in senior living environments, homebound residents, local churches, and schools. Our goal is to positively impact 200,000 lives in communities being disproportionately by COVID-19 and Vitamin D deficiency over the next 6 months. Once the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled, UFH2020 will provide community solutions to other identified health inequities.
Strengthening immune function is possible. United For Health 2020 will provide families with the information needed to protect their loved ones and communities.
Videos
FAQ & Articles
So who Is Vitamin D Deficient in the United States ?
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42% of the U.S. population is Vitamin-D Deficient
But three ethnic groups are fiercely effected :
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82% of Black people
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13% of the population is African American
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22% of all COVID-19 deaths were African American patients (in 2020)
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70% of Hispanic people
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97% Native/First American children
All three groups suffer from high rates of :
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Obesity
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Cardiac Disease
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Diabetes
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And many Cancers.
As well as :
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Severe Covid-19 cases
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Covid-19 cases resulting in death
Therefore :
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Although Vitamin-D deficiency may not be a direct cause of these diseases, observational and controlled trials have and continue to suggest significant correlations and should, therefore, be thoughtfully considered as it is safe and inexpensive.
Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3)
80% is made internally (calcitriol) when skin is exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Sun rays (UVB) strike cholesterols in the skin cell to produce calcifediol, is hydroxylated by the kidneys to form calcitriol (aka 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol), which then circulates in the blood as a steroid hormone, regulating the concentration of calcium and phosphate.
20% from ingestion of fortified food, animal foods, supplement (over-the-counter and prescriptions)
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Deficient level less than 12-20 (ng/ml) (30 nmol/L)
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Adequate level 30-50 (ng/ml) (50-125 nmol/L)
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Optimal Immune Function level (60-100 ng/ml)
We can no longer ignore the extreme risk factors associated with insufficient or deficient Vitamin D levels in the era of COVID-19. Utilizing the mounting evidence associated with Vitamin D3 and with support from Health Departments and logistical experts working directly and indirectly with local municipal leaders, we can move towards controlling our community and state narratives, as we address the crippling and systemic consequences communities are facing and survive together.
THE COLOR OF CORONAVIRUS:
COVID-19 DEATHS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY IN THE U.S.
Color of Coronavirus: COVID-19 deaths analyzed by race and ethnicity — APM Research Lab
Water-Soluble Vitamin D: Better for Those With Malabsorption Issues?
A new oral formulation of vitamin D3
Racial differences in the relationship between vitamin D... (Osteoporosis Int.)
Blacks and Hispanics have lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations than whites. However, it is unclear whether 25(OH)D levels considered “optimal” for bone and mineral metabolism in whites are the same as those in minority populations.
What Does It Mean To Be Immunocompromised | Penn Medicine
For many, living with a weakened immune system means a higher chance of illness and infection
