MARK SANTIAGO OF HUDSON HEALTH PLAN HONORED AS A 'RISING STAR' AMONG WESTCHESTER BUSINESS LEADERS

The Business Council of Westchester Presents Santiago With 'Rising Stars - Westchester's Forty Under Forty' Award

TARRYTOWN, NY (June 1, 2005) - Mark Santiago, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Hudson Health Plan, was presented with a "Rising Stars - Westchester's Forty Under Forty" award today by the Business Council of Westchester. The award honors 40 young Westchester business leaders under the age of 40 for their professional accomplishments, leadership qualities, and outstanding successes. The ceremony was held at MasterCard International's headquarters in Purchase.

Mr. Santiago, 38, a resident of Newburgh, has played an instrumental role in Hudson Health Plan's growth since joining the company as a marketing representative in 1991. At that time, the Plan, which provides free and low-cost health insurance to low-income residents, had 900 members and operated only in Westchester County. Today, it has approximately 55,000 members in Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, and Sullivan Counties as well as in Westchester, largely due to Mr. Santiago's efforts.

 "Mark's success stems from his early recognition that low-income families encounter many challenges when attempting to access health-care services, such as language barriers and complex eligibility requirements," remarked Georganne Chapin, President and CEO of Hudson Health Plan. "From the first day he came to Hudson Health Plan, Mark has shown both the communication and leadership skills necessary to overcome these barriers, and now is an essential member of our senior management team."
 
 In his position, Mr. Santiago is responsible for conveying Hudson Health Plan's mission of promoting and providing access to health care for all, as well as its core values of Respect, Responsibility, Excellence, Diversity, and Community, to all constituencies, including potential and current members, health care providers, officials, employees, and the public. He directs the not-for-profit organization's advertising, public relations, and special events programs, and leads a multilingual and multicultural field staff of 80 marketing representatives, who work out of five satellite offices.

 At the time Mr. Santiago joined Hudson Health Plan, he was working toward a degree in business and organization management at Nyack College. Despite his heavy workload, Mr. Santiago received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors. At 38, he is one of the most successful young Latinos in the Hudson Valley. He lives in Newburgh with his wife, two sons, and daughter, and is an active leader of Roca de Salvacion Church in Tarrytown, where his father serves as the pastor. He also is a member of the Westchester County Child Health Task Force.

"I am honored to be recognized for doing something that I love," Mr. Santiago said. "Hudson Health Plan provides an important social service by going into the community and helping low-income families access health care services.  Every time we enroll another member, we know that we are making a real difference in that person's life."

About Hudson Health Plan
Founded in the mid-1980s by a coalition of community health centers, Hudson Health Plan works to serve the best interests of its members and providers. The Tarrytown, NY-based not-for-profit organization has approximately 55,000 members in Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in the lower Hudson Valley. A leader among health plans, Hudson Health Plan has been driving health care innovation in the Hudson Valley by actively promoting quality health care, developing new technology to streamline enrollment into and the administration of Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus. The Plan is the winner of the 2005 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Corporate Award for diversity from the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester, and the New York Health Plan Association's 2003 Community Leadership Award. 

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