Fallon Community Health Plan awards $15,000 to The Bridge of Central Massachusetts
Grant money to support recreation and health education for at-risk youth
Worcester, Mass., December 5, 2007—Fallon Community Health Plan (FCHP) will award $15,000 to The Bridge of Central Massachusetts in Worcester through its Community Benefits Grant program. The funding will support the Health First Youth Program, a program that provides health and wellness education and activities for at-risk youth living in The Bridge of Central Massachusetts’ residential homes.
“The Bridge of Central Massachusetts is a vital leader in providing comprehensive human services in collaboration with multitalented and diversely challenged individuals and their families,” said Barent Walsh, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Bridge of Central Massachusetts. “Through the Health First Youth Program, our residents and their families will have access to resources that will promote optimal health, as well as the opportunity to participate in community activities to help our residents learn crucial development skills, including social skills, wellness and fitness.”
With the grant, the organization is able to support the Health First Youth Program by purchasing equipment for activities, and providing health education to youth, parents, family members and staff.
“Our child and adolescent population has many physical and mental health difficulties, and these complications often inhibit involvement in typical extracurricular activities due to the intensive level of support and supervision the youth require,”
added Walsh. “We are thankful to Fallon Community Health Plan for supporting a program that will provide opportunities for our youth to participate in daily physical activity.”
Every year, Fallon Community Health Plan seeks grant applications from non-profit organizations dedicated to improving the lives of youth in communities throughout Massachusetts.
“Physical activity and a healthy lifestyle are so important for today’s youth. We’re proud to support the Bridge of Central Massachusetts and its dedication to providing residents with programs that promote health and wellness,” said Eric H. Schultz, President and CEO, Fallon Community Health Plan.
Lauren M. Petit
lauren.petit@fchp.org
About FCHP
Founded in 1977, Fallon Community Health Plan provides health care services designed to meet the unique and changing needs of all we serve. FCHP is the only health plan in Massachusetts that is both an insurer and provider of care. Our product portfolio includes a variety of group and individual health plan options (HMO, POS, PPO, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans) featuring flexible and innovative benefit designs. We administer fully-insured and self-insured funding arrangements with customized services for employers. Our uniquely developed provider networks offer high-quality, cost-effective, coordinated care and give our members access to doctors and hospitals throughout Massachusetts. We also offer a broad spectrum of services and programs to ensure our members, at every stage of life, remain as healthy and productive as possible. FCHP is a provider of care through its Summit ElderCareSM program, an advanced and completely integrated program that offers seniors and their caregivers an alternative to nursing home placement. Our continued commitment to deliver high-quality health care and exceptional customer service has earned FCHP consistent ratings as one of the nation’s top health plans, and in 2007, placed our Medicare and Medicaid health plans as the best in the nation. FCHP is the only health plan in Massachusetts to have been awarded “Excellent” Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for our HMO, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid products.