Asthma Education Program Uses Basketball to
Help Local Children Manage Their Disease
More than 100 Children Participated in the Healthy Hoops Program in Reading, PA
Reading (PA) –More than 100 children and parents from the Berks County area recently participated in AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan’s Kick Off of the 2008 Healthy HoopsSM program in Reading, PA. Healthy Hoops is an innovative asthma management program that uses basketball as a platform to teach children with asthma and their families how to proactively manage the disease through proper nutrition, exercise, and medication use.
The Kick Off event, held April 5 at Northwest Middle School in Reading, Pa., focused on educating disadvantaged children with asthma and their families. The Healthy Hoops program is sponsored by AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan and the Healthy Hoops Coalition, made up of AstraZeneca, the American Lung Association, and local basketball coaches and health and community organizations.
The Kick Off event included health assessments and hands-on asthma education for the children and their parents; basketball coaching sessions for the children from local coaches Sonny Hill, Brian Daly and Tanisha Giddens; parent education sessions; and entertainment for the whole family. In addition to focusing on asthma management, the program targeted decreasing childhood obesity and increasing cardiovascular activity, as they relate to asthma. This ongoing program will culminate with a full-day Healthy Hoops basketball and asthma management camp to be held in the fall.
"Asthma is the most common chronic illness among children," said Robert Cooper, manager of Community Outreach, AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan. "The Healthy Hoops program has the power to change lives. It gives children – especially those who are disadvantaged and underserved – a chance to get off the sidelines and into the game."
Pennsylvania State Senator Michael O’Pake was on hand to express his support for the program, and was honored by AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan with a St. Joseph’s University jersey signed by the players, as well as a Healthy Hoops jersey and induction into the "Healthy Hoops Hall of Fame." Thomas McMahon, mayor of the City of Reading, also attended the Kick Off event.
About Healthy Hoops
Healthy Hoops was created in 2003 by AmeriHealth Mercy’s sister plan, Keystone Mercy Health Plan, and launched in the Philadelphia area. Over the past five years, program participants have shown an increase in the use of preventive medications, and a decrease in ER visits, hospitalizations, nocturnal awakenings, and the use of rescue medication. Healthy Hoops has expanded nationally to South Carolina, and is currently expanding to additional markets, including Kentucky and Florida. To date, more than 2,500 children with asthma, their parents, and siblings have participated in the Healthy Hoops Program.
About AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan
AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan is a Medical Assistance (Medicaid) managed care health plan serving more than 86,000 Medical Assistance recipients in 15 counties. Its corporate parent partners are Mercy Health System and AmeriHealth First. AmeriHealth Mercy's mission is to help people get care, stay well and build healthy communities. You can find more information about AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan at www.amerihealthmercyhp.com. |
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