Health Plus - Celebrating the Jewish New Year

For Immediate Release

Celebrating the Jewish New Year
Health Plus and Queens JCC Hold Food Drive for Rosh Hashanah

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Queens, New York - September 6, 2007 — Last night at the headquarters of the Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC), managed care organization Health Plus ensured that several hundred families will have a happy new year, as the Jewish community prepares to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.

One of holiest days of the year in the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah literally translates to “Head of the Year”. Rosh Hashanah also marks the beginning of the ten days of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. These donations of kosher foods will enable many underprivileged Jewish families in the New York City area, to participate in their cultural festivities

“I’d like to start by saying, L’shana Tova – Happy New Year!” said Tom Early, Executive Director of Health Plus. At Health Plus, we pride ourselves in our work with each and every diverse community throughout the five boroughs of New York City as well as Nassau County, and our work with the Queens Jewish Community Council in the past several years has been remarkable. The work this group does to fight poverty is astounding, and we couldn’t be happier to support them in this Rosh Hashanah food drive, as well as any other endeavors in which we partner in the future.”

Ronald Balshine, Joseph Bouquet, Cynthia Zalisky, Geraldo Estevez, Jonathan Zalisky (third from right) and Mayer Berkowitz, stand with volunteers during the Rosh Hashanah Food Drive at the QJCC Headquarters in Forest Hills, Queens, last night.

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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.