USC Coaches Dave Odom, Susan Walvius, and Tammy Holder and Clemson Coach Oliver Purnell Kick Off the Expansion of Innovative Health Outreach Program to Help Kids With Asthma
Healthy Hoops uses sport of basketball to educate youth on asthma management
Columbia, SC – USC Coaches Dave Odom, Susan Walvius, Tammy Holder and Clemson Coach Oliver Purnell, together with basketball legend Sonny Hill, will kick off the expansion of the Healthy Hoops program at a Press Conference and Kickoff Celebration on Wednesday, September 6 at 10:30 a.m. at the USC Basketball Practice Facility, 600 Assembly Street. Healthy Hoops is an innovative program for children with asthma that combines sports training with health education. The Healthy Hoops program, held last year in Columbia, is now being expanded to include both the Midlands and the Upstate. The program is sponsored by Select Health of South Carolina, Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Inc. AstraZeneca, AmeriHealth Mercy, and the Healthy Hoops Coalition.
Using basketball as a platform, Healthy Hoops teaches children and their families how to manage asthma through appropriate medication usage, proper nutrition, monitored exercise and recreational activities. In addition to focusing on asthma management, the program will target decreasing childhood obesity and increasing cardiovascular activity, particularly in children with asthma.
Following the press conference, children with asthma and their families along with administration and staff from school districts within the Midlands will learn more about the Healthy Hoops Program and meet asthma health professionals. There will also be a basketball shoot-out competition and a meet and greet session with participating coaches and the mascots from USC and Clemson University.
In 2005, Select Health of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, AstraZeneca, Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Inc., the Healthy Hoops Coalition, and a host of healthcare providers and asthma advocates launched Healthy Hoops for children with asthma ages 7 to 15, in Columbia, SC (Midlands). AmeriHealth Mercy, a national Medicaid managed care organization, created the original Healthy Hoops program in 2003 in Philadelphia, PA. The program there has been successful in reducing hospitalization and emergency room visits for participating children, as well as in reducing use of rescue medication and increasing use of preventive medication therapies.
“This year’s Healthy Hoops promises even more excitement than last year’s, and we are pleased to be able to bring this great health outreach program back to the Midlands and to expand the program to the Upstate. We are fortunate to have South Carolina’s premier basketball coaches, USC Coaches Dave Odom and Tammy Holder with Clemson University’s Oliver Purnell,” says Select Health of South Carolina President and CEO, J. Michael Jernigan. “The Healthy Hoops program will have a positive impact in helping children with asthma and their families to better manage the disease.”
ABOUT SELECT HEALTH
Select Health of South Carolina has been serving families in South Carolina for over a decade. As the state’s largest provider of Medicaid medical homes, the Select Health insurance plan, First Choice, serves more than 71,000 members in 36 South Carolina counties. Select Health is a wholly owned subsidiary of the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies. To learn more about Select Health, logon to www.selecthealthofsc.com.
ABOUT AMERIHEALTH MERCY FAMILY OF COMPANIES
With nearly 25 years of experience exclusively serving the Medicaid population, AmeriHealth Mercy and its affiliates comprise the largest family of Medicaid managed care plans in the United States, touching the lives of more than 2.4 million members in sixteen states. For more information, visit AmeriHealth Mercy.
ABOUT THE HEALTHY HOOPS COALITION
The Healthy Hoops Coalition is a partnership between private sector and non-profit organizations. Serving as a steering committee for the Healthy Hoops Program, the coalition is made up of volunteers from the Acceleration Sports Institute, American Lung Association, Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands, Brookland Baptist Church, Cleveland Street Family YMCA of Greenville, Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Family Connection of South Carolina, Greenville Tech, IMARA Woman Magazine, Office of Minority Health/DHEC, Potential Sports Academy, Reedy River Missionary Baptist Church, Richland County School District One, SC Asthma Alliance, SC Association of School Nurses, and SC Society for Respiratory Care, Within Reach, and WLXC’s Kiss 98.5.
ABOUT EAU CLAIRE COOPERATIVE HEALTH CENTERS, INC.
The Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Inc. is a federally qualified, community-based comprehensive medical safety net that provides access to primary healthcare services for traditionally underserved populations.
The mission of the Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Inc. (ECCHC) is to provide comprehensive, high quality compassionate medical care in the spirit of the Good Samaritan. For more information about the Cooperative, visit www.ecchc.org.
ABOUT ASTRAZENECA
AstraZeneca is a major international research based pharmaceutical company engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of ethical (prescription) pharmaceutical products. The company produces a wide range of products that make significant contributions to patient care and treatment options for cancer and gastrointestinal disorders, anesthesia (including pain management), cardiovascular disease, respiratory and neurological disorders. AstraZeneca PLC is headquartered in London with its U.S. headquarters located in Wilmington, Delaware. For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit www.astrazeneca-us.com. |
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