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Valerie Foster
Harrison Edwards PR/914-242-0010
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                        -or-
Ted Herman
Hudson Health Plan/914-372-2204
therman@hudsonhealthplan.org

 

CHILDREN’S ARTWORK SHOWS THEY GET HUDSON HEALTH PLAN’S MESSAGE LOUD AND CLEAR: EAT RIGHT AND MAKE TIME FOR EXERCISE!


Winning Drawings in Hudson’s Good Health/Healthy Eating Art Contest Highlight Nutritious Food While Giving Candy, Chips and Soda the Heave-Ho!

Art Contest Is Latest Salvo in Hudson’s Ongoing Campaign To Fight Childhood Obesity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2011

(Tarrytown, NY)…Leana Estevez loves fruit so much she drew a picture depicting her favorites, and called her work “I Love Fruits.” Chris Rivera knows that if he eats fruit he’ll kick a soccer ball harder and further, which was the message in his artwork, titled “Good Sports.”

Leana and Chris are two of eight health-conscious children who won Hudson Health Plan’s “Good Health/Healthy Eating” annual art contest. The winning drawings prove that these eight children have learned that good nutrition combined with exercise is the key to leading a healthy life, thanks in part to Hudson Health Plan. Hudson, a community-based not-for-profit health care organization, has been targeting childhood obesity, and the art contest is the latest initiative, according to Mark Santiago, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Hudson.

“The statistics are frightening: Forty-six percent of children age six to eleven are classified as overweight or obese,” Mr. Santiago says. “Hudson is always searching for innovative ways to deliver the message that a healthy diet and exercise is the only way to solve our pediatric obesity epidemic. The art contest attracted a wide range of children who creatively expressed what a healthy lifestyle means to them. Choosing the eight winners was not an easy task.”

The artwork is displayed on Hudson’s Web site, and under each drawing, a health tip from Hudson underscores each child’s important message. For example, Jennifer Lopez calls her drawing “Food Fight,” in which she pits fruits and vegetables against candy. Hudson’s tip advises children to build lunches around a big bowl of leafy greens and vegetables and some lean chicken, or soup and brown rice. Cecilia Perez chose “Be Active” as the title of her drawing, which depicts kids playing soccer, running, jumping rope, and doing push-ups. Hudson’s tip advises families to incorporate exercise into their daily routines, and suggests ways to accomplish this goal.

For years, Hudson has been working to raise public awareness about childhood obesity through outreach to its members, its doctors, and the community. Projects have included bi-lingual cooking classes; visits to inner-city schools and English-as-a-second-language classes to talk about nutrition to children and parents; Bicycle Safety Rodeos to stress the importance of exercise; and a Pediatric Obesity Performance Improvement Project kit, now used by more than 200 pediatricians in Hudson’s network, which includes a height chart and a Body Mass Index (BMI) wheel to help a doctor chart and record the child’s BMI score, used to determine a diagnosis of excessive weight or obesity.

The artwork can be viewed at: www.hudsonhealthplan.org/members/art-contest/

About Hudson Health Plan

Hudson Health Plan is a community-based not-for-profit health care organization that provides state-sponsored Medicaid Managed Care, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus insurance coverage to over 100,000 members in New York’s Hudson Valley. Hudson uses every government dollar it receives to fulfill its mission, which is “to promote and provide access to excellent health services for all people.” Hudson improves the health of its members and the communities in which they live through its innovations in care coordination, and by supporting over 5,000 local health providers. In both 2009 and 2010, Hudson achieved the highest quality incentive scores of any Medicaid plan in New York State. It also has earned the highest ratings in overall satisfaction among Medicaid Managed Care members in the Hudson Valley region every year since 2003.

Hudson Health Plan is based in Tarrytown, N.Y. Visit Hudson on the Web at www.hudsonhealthplan.org, and at www.facebook.com/hudsonhealthplan.

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