Press Release

                        

                                
                                

                     
                     

                        
Press Release - June 17, 2006

                        

                           

                              
                           

                           

                              
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            
June 17, 2006        
Contacts:
Tim Rosales (916) 475-4900
M.J. Fingland (202) 835-3460

GROWING HEALTH CARE PARTNERSHIP AND NEW HEALTHYFRESNO PROGRAM BRING NATIONAL BUS TOUR TO JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

FRESNO, CALIF. (JUNE 17, 2006) – Today, America’s Pharmaceutical Companies, for the first time, are bringing together two major health initiatives to improve Fresnans’ access to health information, health care resources, and prescription medicines.
HealthyFresno and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) will host a health festival with health screenings, games, and giveaways at today’s 28th Annual Fresno Juneteenth Celebration at the Hinton Center Park. Launched just one month ago at the Ted C. Wills Community Center, HealthyFresno is a community-wide initiative to reduce the burden of chronic disease in Fresno County and to educate Fresno residents on effective disease prevention; the PPA is the largest private sector effort to help uninsured and underinsured patients access prescription medicines.
“These two programs are about improving health and changing lives,” said John O’Brien, a pharmacist with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), an organization representing America’s pharmaceutical companies. “HealthyFresno and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance are working together with the Fresno community to raise awareness about how people can better manage their health – through education, through disease prevention, and through access to quality health care, including prescription medicines.” 
The partners involved in both initiatives, including HealthNet, Dan Gamel Fitness, San Joaquin Valley Health Consortium, and the West Fresno Healthcare Coalition, will offer blood pressure and body-mass index screenings, fitness analyses, games for kids, and face painting at the festival. Information on the tools and resources available through HealthyFresno and the PPA will also be available to all Fresno County residents.
In addition, the PPA’s “Health is Here Express,” a traveling education center making its way across the country to raise awareness and educate the public about patient assistance programs, will be showcased at the festival.
Both HealthyFresno and the PPA address clear health needs in the Fresno community:
  • In 2003, one out of four (24.3%) Fresno County residents – approximately 184,000 people –under the age of 65 were uninsured for all or part of the year.¹
  • More than 300,000 people living in Fresno County suffer from at least one chronic disease. 
  • Every year, more than 3,500 Fresno County residents die because of chronic disease.
  • About 80% of these deaths could be prevented by changes in behavior.²
 
“It is wonderful that HealthyFresno is able to bring this resource to communities that need access and assistance most,” said Audrey Redmond, president of the Black Political Council of Fresno and a small business owner in Fresno.
About HealthyFresno:
The HealthyFresno program brings together key health care players, community leaders, and local celebrities offering a health, wellness, and disease prevention campaign that encourages Fresno County residents to make better nutrition and fitness decisions and to identify health issues and risk factors at an early stage.
Dozens of prominent community leaders, employers, civic groups, and health care organizations have joined the HealthyFresno program since its launch last month at the Ted C. Wills Community Center. Among them: Congressman Jim Costa, Clovis Mayor Nathan Magsig, Fresno County Farm Bureau, the West Fresno Healthcare Coalition, Todos Unidos, LULAC, The Arthritis Foundation, the American Heart Association, and the Fresno Department of Parks and Recreation. 
For more information and to join the fight for a healthier Fresno, residents and employers should visit www.HealthyFresno.org or call 1-866-HLTHYFR (1-866-458-4937).
About the PPA:
Through its toll-free number (1-888-4PPA-NOW) and user-friendly web site (www.pparx.org ), the Partnership for Prescription Assistance is the only program that provides a single point of access to more than 475 public and private patient assistance programs, including more than 180 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies.  The “Help Is Here Express” is equipped with computer terminals and phones to make it easy for patients to learn about the assistance programs on-site.  
To find out if there are patient assistance programs that may meet their needs, patients should call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to speak with a trained specialist or visit www.pparx.org.
 
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¹ UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Fact sheet available at: www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/files/shic05_Fresno.pdf 
² The Altarum Institute. The Burden of Chronic Disease in Jackson. May 18, 2006.