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For Immediate Release

Project A+ Rewards NYC Students
Health Plus Program Encourages Good Grades

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New York, NY - July 18, 2005 — School is out for the summer, so once again, Health Plus, the Medicaid managed care organization, is rewarding its young members who’ve proven devotion to their studies through its 14th Annual Project A+ program.  Over 2,000 students across the five boroughs received special gifts, including 448 students from Queens, 200 from Manhattan, 1,478 from Brooklyn, 330 from Staten Island, and 170 from the Bronx.
Throughout the week, first-to-eighth-grade students who earned an overall average of B+ or higher in their classes this year, and who receive health insurance through Health Plus, were recognized and awarded through Health Plus’s Project A+ program.  All children who met the criteria and presented their report card at one of Health Plus’s several locations throughout the five boroughs, received a “goody bag,” containing a TOYS R US gift certificate, a t-shirt, Frisbee, and children’s books, donated by publisher Brown Stone Books. 

Since Project A+ began in 1991, Health Plus has rewarded over 12,000 students who received good grades.  Health Plus believes that proper education is an important part of a healthy development.  The project‘s objective is to encourage students to recognize the value of school and the long-term benefits of securing good grades.

"This long running program is a terrific example of how Health Plus goes out of the way to encourage education," says Special Events Supervisor Kenesha Nelson. "We want children throughout the communities we serve to know, that if they try hard and achieve success academically, they will be rewarded, both in the immediate horizon, with our project A+, as well as down the road, with the satisfaction and opportunities that go along with a good education."




Queens - Health Plus Community Relations Associate Jonathan Zalinsky poses with three young Health Plus members who took part in the Project A+ Program.

Queens - Health Plus Community Relations Associate, Geraldo Estevez, stands with a proud A+ student at the company’s Jamaica Blvd Office.

Brooklyn - Kenisha Nelson, Julio Coronel, Angelica Trujillo and Ana Perez-Guerra of Health Plus, pose with some young studious Brooklynites at the Health Plus Office on 5th Ave

Bronx - Health Plus Marketing Supervisor, Lazare Pouani, stands with some of the finest students in the Bronx, who all received gifts as part of Project A+.

Staten Island - Josephine Marino (Right), and Debbie Di Orio of Health Plus, stand with three young scholars in Staten Island as part of Project A+.

Brooklyn - Health Plus Chief Marketing Officer, Ada Rodriguez, and Assoc. Director of Special Events, Yvonne Riley-Tepie, stand along side a group of children who all received gifts as part of Project A+.

Two young scholars got to select books as part of their gifts from Project A+, at the Health Plus office on 59th Street in Brooklyn.

Manhattan - Special Events Coordinator Max Luna, poses with two young Health Plus Members in Manhattan, who received gifts as part of Project A+.

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Health Plus, a not-for-profit, multi-cultural organization, is one of the fastest growing managed care organizations in New York City. It was established in 1984 with a commitment to provide coordinated quality health care and improving access to health care for uninsured and underserved families. In its annual review of managed care plans, the New York State Department of Health ranked Health Plus as the top plan for quality in its 2002 and 2003 "Consumer's Guide to Medicaid Managed Care in New York City." Health Plus is New York City's leading provider of Child Health Plus, a New York State Department of Health program that offers parents FREE or low-cost health insurance for children under the age of 19. "CRAIN'S New York Business" magazine ranked Health Plus fifth among the largest health maintenance organizations in the New York area.