Press Releases: 2007

College of Charleston’s coach Cremins Teaches Healthy HoopsSM to Kids with Asthma

Asthma Screenings – Asthma Education – Basketball Activities –All Free!

Charleston, SC – Of Charleston county’s 15,000 asthma sufferers, children from ages 7 to 15 will have access to free ongoing support, screenings, and health education that will help to put their symptoms to rest.  All they have to do is show up at John Kresse Arena, 30 George Street, on Saturday, July 28th at 9 a.m. for the Healthy HoopsSM Charleston Challenge.  Kids will also participate in basketball activities led by the College of Charleston’s coach, Bobby Cremins, and other high profile coaches from across the country.   Select Health of South Carolina, Inc. together with Franklin C. Fetter Family Health Centers, Amerihealth Mercy, and the Healthy HoopsSM Coalition have partnered to bring this program to the Lowcountry. 

The South Carolina Healthy HoopsSM Program sponsors free one-day basketball challenges throughout the year to teach children with asthma and their families how to better manage the disease through appropriate medication usage, proper nutrition, monitored exercise and recreational activities.  Peak flow and spirometry asthma screenings and health screenings are an important component of the challenge events.  In addition to focusing on asthma management, Healthy HoopsSM targets decreasing childhood obesity and increasing cardiovascular activity, particularly in children with asthma. 

“To teach kids with asthma how to be actively involved in playing sports is why Healthy HoopsSM is such an important program,” says Cremins.  “Many of these kids say they were not allowed to play at recess and participate in sports because they were told that it would cause an asthma flare up.  The Healthy HoopsSM Program shows and proves otherwise.  That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to partner with an organization like Select Health whose mission is all about helping people get care, stay well, and build healthy communities.” 

According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, nearly 15,000 Charleston county residents suffer annually from asthma.  It is the leading cause of hospitalization for children under the age of 18 and one of the leading reasons for the most missed school days. 

Head coach of Men’s Basketball at the College of Charleston – Bobby Cremins, head coach of Women’s Basketball at Southern Wesleyan University – LaCheryl Smith, Jermel President of the DAE Foundation, basketball legend – Sonny Hill, and former head coach of Philadelphia’s Father Judge High School – Bill Fox, will teach camp participants how to play the sport of basketball while effectively managing their asthma condition. 

While this is the first time that the Healthy HoopsSM Program is being offered to Lowcountry families, the program was launched in 2005 in the Midlands with the support of University of South Carolina’s head coaches, Dave Odom and Susan Walvius, and expanded to the Upstate last year with Clemson’s Oliver Purnell as a participating coach. 

The Healthy HoopsSM Program has helped nearly 2,000 families receive life-saving health information about how to better manage asthma, stay active, and improve their overall health forecast. 

“It’s about growth through collaboration,” says Select Health CEO, J. Michael Jernigan, about the community’s support of Healthy HoopsSM.  “Our partnerships with organizations and health professionals that live in the very communities we serve, has helped us to make this much-needed program free and open to all families of children with asthma, thus engaging them to live healthier lives.”    

AmeriHealth Mercy, a national Medicaid managed care organization, created the original Healthy HoopsSM program in 2003 in Philadelphia, PA.

Registration for the Healthy HoopsSM Basketball Challenge is free and participants must be accompanied by a parent/guardian and siblings are invited to attend.  Call 1.866.HOOPS.SC. to pre-register and to get additional information.

ABOUT SELECT HEALTH
Select Health of South Carolina is the state’s oldest and most experienced provider of Medicaid medical homes for over 75,000 families in 36 South Carolina counties. Select Health is a wholly owned subsidiary of AmeriHealth Mercy. To learn more about Select Health, visit www.selecthealthofsc.com.

ABOUT THE Healthy HoopsSM COALITION
The Healthy HoopsSM Coalition serves as a steering committee for the Healthy HoopsSM Program and is a partnership between the following regional and national private sectors, non-profit organizations, and professionals: AllBall! Organization, American Lung Association, AstraZeneca, Coach Bobby Cremins of The College of Charleston, Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands, Brookland Baptist Church, Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission, City of Charleston’s Mayor’s Office, City of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation, City of Greenville Parks and Recreation, Cleveland Street Family YMCA of Greenville, Communities in Schools of Greenville, DAE Foundation, Coach Dave Odom of The University of South Carolina, Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Elite Speed and Strength, Family Connection of South Carolina, Franklin C. Fetter Family Health Center, Greenville Family Partnership, Greenville Hospital Systems, Greenville Tech, Hope World Wide, Office of Minority Health/DHEC, Coach Oliver Purnell of Clemson University, Phillis Wheatley Association, Potential Sports Academy, Reedy River Missionary Baptist Church, Richland County School District One, Safe Kids Trident Area, Schering-Plough, SC Asthma Alliance, SC Association of School Nurses, SC Society for Respiratory Care, Trident Technical College, Coach Susan Walvius of The University of South Carolina, WXLC Kiss 98.5, WWWZ Z93Jamz, Young Ladies Conquering Obstacles, and Youth Empowerment Services.