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For Immediate Release

Art Against Asthma
Young Artists Teach Themselves And Others About Asthma Through Health Plus Poster Contest

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Brooklyn, NY - May 5, 2004 — Art can be a great teaching tool, especially when children get the chance to be creative.  Add a little competition to the mix, with a chance to become a published and award-winning poster designer, and you have an educational resource with impressive results.  That's the formula Health Plus's World Asthma Day Poster Contest has been relying on for three years now, teaching the city's elementary students about asthma and how to control it, by engaging them in a contest to design the poster with the best asthma message.

The contest's theme this year is "Asthma and Air Quality"; all posters submitted needed to make the connection.  Students depicted a broad range of messages in their art pertaining to asthma.  Some focused on the disease's triggers, such as pollution, smoke, cars, and roaches.  Other posters had messages encouraging overcoming the disease.

With all poster entries in for this year, eleven judges evaluated the posters, in recognition of World Asthma Day on May 5th.  The judges decided which 12 posters will be featured in next year's Department of Transportation (DOT) calendar, as well as what top three posters deserve awards at a reception next month at Gramercy Park’s National Arts Club, hosted by Health Plus with New York Giant and asthmatic Amani Toomer as keynote speaker.

The judging panel was made up of representatives from Health Plus, the DOT, the Department of Education, the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Lutheran Medical Center, Empire State Development Corporation, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, and the Brooklyn Borough President's Office.

"Health Plus is proud to put this event together and partner with these great organizations to promote combating and managing asthma," says Tom Early, Executive Director for Health Plus.  "This effort will not only encourage young artists, but it will educate many people about a disease that affects this city drastically."


Judges for Health Plus's Third Annual World Asthma Day Poster Contest raise their hands to vote for the top posters.

Health Plus's Executive Director, Tom Early, weighs the different qualities of the posters with Director of Design Services for the NYC Department of Transportation, Margery Nathanson, at this year's Asthma Poster Contest.

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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.