Highmark honoring mass shooting victim who worked with them for 40 years

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York has announced plans to honor one of the victims of the mass shooting and support relief efforts.

The healthcare company is making a $300,000 investment.

“We are heartbroken over the lives lost at the hands of racism and violence and pray for their families, friends, and neighbors,” said Dr. Michael Edbauer, president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, said. “It is with especially heavy hearts that we remember Katherine ‘Kat’ Massey, who as our long-time colleague, dedicated four decades to serving our Blue Cross Blue Shield members.”

Massey was 72 years old. During his visit to Buffalo this past Tuesday, President Joe Biden described Massey as “a writer and an advocate who dressed up in costumes in schools, and cut the grass in the park and helped the local elections.” He called her “the glue of the family and the community.”

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Highmark is awarding a grant to a non-profit co-founded by Massey — We Are Women Warriors. The organization is “dedicated to aiding inner-city residents in socioeconomic, educational, environmental, and criminal justice,” Highmark says.

Along with this, a scholarship fund is being established for a Buffalo Public Schools student.

“Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York remains committed to supporting our community through this tragic time, while we honor the lives and legacies of those we lost,” Dr. Edbauer said. “This is particularly close to our hearts, and to our company, because Kat Massey was one of those we lost, and she worked with us for 40 years.”

Highmark is also helping by giving financial support to mental health providers in the Jefferson Avenue community, investing in the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund, and donating and distributing essential items at a number of locations on Buffalo’s east side.