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Press Releases: 2010

Select Health of South Carolina Announces the Caring10 Initiative

Statewide community scholarship awarded during kickoff ceremony

Ashley Adams can’t wait to go to college.  The 17-year old senior at Columbia High School is ready for the exciting experience, and now she has a little help to get there.  Ashley has been awarded the 2010 First Choice/First Choice Kids Member Scholarship as part of Select Health of South Carolina’s Caring10 initiative, a ten-year, $200,000 commitment to provide financial assistance to statewide community members who are pursuing a higher education.  The award was presented today during the Caring10 Kickoff ceremony held at the First Choice Community Service Center in Columbia.

Caring10 is a two-part campaign dedicated to Select Health’s mission and continued service to members and communities. Through the First Choice/First Choice Kids Member Scholarship Program, Caring10 commits a total of $200,000 over the next ten years to provide scholarships for members who are pursuing higher education.  For the inaugural year, Select Health has partnered with College Place United Methodist Church to award the 2010 scholarship to Ashley, who plans to attend a four-year college in the fall to major in Theatre Arts, and hopes to one day teach the subject in her community. 

In addition to the member scholarship program, the Caring10 initiative also encompasses a community engagement element for Select Health’s employees.  For the next ten years, associates will choose an element from Select Health’s mission, vision or values as a focus for support, and will partner with a community organization that exemplifies that particular mission, vision or value element.  Associates will give back to the community by working with the identified community organization on service and fund-raising activities throughout the year.

Caring10 was created to celebrate two important milestones for Select Health.  This year, Select Health will celebrate ten years as part of the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies, a relationship that has allowed Select Health to support its members with a strong and national presence.  2010 also brings the health plan enrollment to over 200,000 members, making Select Health one of the largest health insurance companies in the state.

“Select Health is very excited to announce the Caring10 initiative and its first scholarship winner,” said Select Health of South Carolina President and CEO J. Michael Jernigan.  “This campaign helps to foster the spirit of our mission of providing quality healthcare to all of our communities and to help build successes in others.”

Today’s Caring10 kickoff also celebrated the official grand opening for Select Health’s new First Choice Community Center, which serves as a one-stop shop for residents to learn more about the programs and services offered through Select Health’s two health plans, First Choice and First Choice Kids.  Additionally, the center will provide space for community events, house on-site health benefit educators, provide educational information on preventive healthcare, and staff bilingual representatives for those needing language assistance and information about local community programs. The center will also serve as a resource for other community organizations in the area to use in their outreach efforts.

For more information about the Caring10 initiative and the First Choice/First Choice Kids Member Scholarship Program, please call 1-866-466-7772.

About Select Health
Incorporated in 1995, Select Health was licensed as a Health Maintenance Organization by the South Carolina Department of Insurance in 1996.  Later that year, the company contracted with the Department of Health and Human Services to offer First Choice, the state’s first Medicaid managed care plan.  Select Health is accredited by URAC and
is a wholly owned subsidiary of AmeriHealth Mercy.  The AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies touches the lives of more than 6.5 million members nationwide.