WellCare donates funds to Kentucky initiative
TAMPA, Fla. (April 16, 2015) — WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), a leading provider of managed care services for government-sponsored health care programs, announced today that it gave $12,000 to the Marshall County Health Department, located in Western Kentucky, to help fund an after-school program designed to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and promote good character. The program, called Team Ultra, is open to third, fourth and fifth graders in the county.
Team Ultra is offered at all six of the county’s elementary schools and provides more than 300 students with 45 minutes of moderate physical activity and ten minutes of nutritional counseling, once a week. During the activities, coaches incorporate lessons to teach good character, such as self-respect and respect for others, courtesy, fairness and citizenship. The program also promotes preventive health by rewarding students with a pedometer when they participate in an annual well-child visit.
Team Ultra also reinforces healthy behaviors by encouraging at-home activities, such as creating and running obstacle courses (with parent approval), planting vegetable gardens, eating healthy and reading nutrition labels.
“The Marshall County Health Department is grateful to WellCare for helping us make Team Ultra available to every student who wanted to participate this school year,” said Paul Rudd, registered dietician for the Marshall County Health Department and program director for Team Ultra. “The program’s primary objective is to encourage personal responsibility to establish a lifetime of health and wellness to combat obesity, which is most often the result of poor eating habits and lack of physical activity.”
“WellCare is proud to make programs, which help to teach life-long healthy habits, available to even more children,” said Dr. Howard Shaps, medical director for WellCare of Kentucky. “The benefits of Team Ultra also extend to the entire family, as it encourages the children to share what they have learned to positively impact the overall health of everyone in the home.”
To learn more about Team Ultra go to www.marshallcohealthdepartment.com/clinic/nutrition.php#ultra.
As of Dec. 31, 2014, WellCare serves approximately 408,000 Medicaid members, 5,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 21,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members in Kentucky. To learn more about how we care for Kentuckians, watch Brandi’s story at http://youtu.be/YwOw5EgeSYo.
About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. provides managed care services targeted to government-sponsored health care programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, Prescription Drug Plans and the Health Insurance Marketplace. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare offers a variety of health plans for families, children, and the aged, blind and disabled. The company serves approximately 4.1 million members nationwide as of Dec. 31, 2014. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company’s website at wellcare.com or view the company’s videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.
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