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Press Releases: 2008

Basketball Clinic Expected to Help Dozens of Children Who Suffer from Asthma

USC Men's Head Basketball Coach Darrin Horn Scheduled to Participate

Midlands children who suffer from asthma will be in for a major treat in early October when they learn to shoot hoops from the head coach of the men’s basketball program at the University of South Carolina.

Coach Darrin Horn will lead the lineup of local coaches who are scheduled to participate in the 2008 Healthy Hoops Midlands Challenge. The challenge – to be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, October 4th at Greenview Park, 6700 David Street – is a fun-filled free event that teaches children with asthma how to stay active and healthy. The event features basketball lessons, health screenings and asthma education for children ages seven to 15 years old and their families.

Sponsored by Select Health of South Carolina, the South Carolina Asthma Alliance, Schering-Plough, AmeriHealth Mercy and the Healthy Hoops Coalition, which includes a host of community partners, the Midlands Challenge will use basketball as a platform to teach participants and their families how to manage asthma through appropriate medication usage, proper nutrition, monitored exercise and recreational activities. Participants will also enjoy live entertainment and an awards ceremony. Lunch will also be provided.

Space is still available for asthmatic children to participate in the Midlands Challenge. However, children must receive a health screening first. For more information and to register, call 1.866.HOOPS.SC.

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 health 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 6.2  million members nationwide. For more information, visit www.selecthealthofsc.com.

About the Healthy Hoops Coalition
The Healthy Hoops Coalition serves as a steering committee for the Midlands Healthy Hoops Program and includes the following organizations: South Carolina Asthma Alliance, Schering-Plough, Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, American Lung Association, Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands, City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department, DHEC-Office of Minority Health, Family Connection of South Carolina, KISS 103.1, Midlands Technical College, Palmetto Center for Advocacy, Palmetto Healthy Start, Richland County School District One, Small Smiles, South Carolina Association of School Nurses, South Carolina Society of Allergy Asthma and Immunology and the South Carolina Society for Respiratory Care.