Centene Corporation Announces Kids' Club Aimed at Educating Kids on Health Issues
November 30 2009 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Centene Corporation
(NYSE: CNC) today announced the creation of a program called Kids'
Club, aimed at educating its child members on a variety of health
topics. Centene's health plans are reaching out directly to
children with newsletters, contests and other innovative events,
such as readings with the author of "The Adventures of Thumbs Up
Johnnie(TM)." "Centene and its health plans understand the
importance of getting children involved in order to affect healthy
behavior changes," said Mary Mason, M.D., Senior Vice President and
Chief Medical Officer at Centene. "We are reaching out directly to
children with health information and encouraging our child members
to become part of the club." The Kids' Club is initially focusing
on the childhood obesity epidemic--obesity rates for children
doubled in the past two decades and tripled for adolescents - with
educational information encouraging proper eating and exercise
habits. The Company has formed a partnership with Michelle Bain,
the author and creator of the "Thumbs Up Johnnie" book series.
Through this partnership, Centene sponsored the creation of a book
with Bain titled "Thumbs Up Johnnie & the SUPER Centeam 5-
Adventures Through FITROPOLIS!" The book educates children on the
importance of living an active and healthy life. Bain will
introduce Thumbs Up Johnnie and the new book with events throughout
the country. The first event was held at Adams Elementary School in
St. Louis, with future events scheduled in states where Centene has
health plans. The Company has also formed a Kids Council that is
made up of children under the age of 18 who provide feedback on the
program and materials used. This feedback is used to ensure
information is being effectively communicated in a way that is
appealing and understandable for the child audience. As reported by
the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES),
childhood obesity is on the rise: 31.9% of children and adolescents
are overweight and 16.3% are obese. Dr. Mason stated, "Our Kids'
Club proactively addresses this issue by reaching out to our child
members with fun and easy tips on how to be healthy. The Kids
Council will ensure these messages are presented in a
child-friendly manner." As part of the Kids' Club, Centene and its
health plans held a recipe contest asking for children to submit
their favorite healthy after-school snack. The winner will be
announced in December and will receive a Nintendo® Wii Fit(TM).
Recipes will be featured on health plan websites to encourage
children to choose the healthy option when snacking. About Centene
Corporation Centene Corporation is a leading multi-line healthcare
enterprise that provides programs and related services to
individuals receiving benefits under Medicaid, including the
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as Aged, Blind,
or Disabled (ABD), Foster Care, Long-Term Care and Medicare
(Special Needs Plans). The Company operates local health plans and
offers a wide range of health insurance solutions to individuals
and the rising number of uninsured Americans. It also contracts
with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide
specialty services including behavioral health, life and health
management, managed vision, telehealth services, pharmacy benefits
management and medication adherence. Information regarding Centene
is available via the Internet at http://www.centene.com/.
DATASOURCE: Centene Corporation CONTACT: Edmund E. Kroll, Jr..
Senior Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations,
+1-212-759-0382, or Deanne Lane, Senior Director, Media Affairs,
+1-314-725-4477, both of Centene Corporation Web Site:
http://www.centene.com/
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