Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Awards Area Schools $5,000 to Help Fight Childhood Obesity; Six Kentucky Schools Receive Grants

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has awarded grants totaling $5,000 to six Kentucky schools as part of its award-winning School Nurse Grant Program. The winning proposals support school nurses' efforts to promote healthy lifestyles in children attending grades K - 12.

"Each year, more students are overweight or obese. Our program puts money in the hands of school nurses who are on the front line of this growing community and public health issue. They are eager to help kids learn better ways to eat and the value of regular exercise," said Richard Lane, M.D., medical director, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kentucky.

In their grant applications, school nurses submitted their ideas for implementing research-based programs that teach children how to improve their lifestyles. The winning grants feature creative ways to motivate kids to practice good health habits.

The six schools where programs will be implemented in the 2005-06 school year include North Marshall Middle School (Calvert City), Russell Independent School (Flatwoods), Henry County Public School System (New Castle), Cline Elementary School (Cold Spring), Rockcastle County Middle School (Mt. Vernon) and Eminence Independent Schools (Eminence).

These grants mark the second year for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's program. Six Kentucky schools, Crawford Middle School (Lexington), Summit View Elementary (Independence), Westside Elementary School (Cynthiana), George Rogers Clark High School (Winchester), Clarkson Elementary School (Clarkson), and Highland Elementary (Staffordsville) received funding last year.

Today, the Ohio Association of Health Plans announced that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's School Nurse Grant Program won the 2005 Pinnacle Award in the category of Community Outreach/Partnerships, citing the program's collaborative effort "funding innovative school based cardiovascular risk reduction initiatives."

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. . WellPoint, Inc. is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through HealthLink and UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at http://www.wellpoint.com/ .