'Ohana Health Plan Helps Students at Haiku Elementary Stay Active

KAPOLEI, Hawaii and TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 'Ohana Health Plan, Inc., a WellCare Health Plans, Inc. WCG company, recently sponsored the Hawaii 5210 Let's Go! Program assemblies and installed a new water bottle filling station at Haiku Elementary School in Maui to help promote active living and healthy eating in Hawaii schools,

In Hawaii, 26 percent of children ages 10 to 17 are considered overweight or obese. This is mostly a result of an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise. In fact, children in the U.S. have about five to seven hours of screen time a day, which includes engaging in television, smart phones, and video games, and this number continues to rise.

'Ohana Health Plan has installed water stations and distributed water bottles at schools in Hawaii throughout the past year to emphasize the importance of staying hydrated all day long. Consuming water can help manage calories, energize muscles, moisturize skin, maintain good kidney health and more.

During the assemblies, the Hawaii 5210 team led fun, interactive health education activities with both students and staff, to promote exercise through dance. In order to effectively boost the students' health, the program supports healthy lifestyles including eating five fruits and vegetables a day, two hours or less of screen time, having at least one hour of outdoor play, and no sugary drinks.

"When developing healthy habits, it's important to start early," said Dr. Edward Fess, senior medical director for 'Ohana Health Plan. "That's why we're proud to support the Hawaii 5210 program because the health education it provides to elementary school students instills a commitment to healthy eating and exercise that will last a lifetime."

The Hawaii 5210 initiative is a joint project between the University of Hawaii and the Department of Education. The initiative works to optimize awareness and action among Hawaii's children and their families.

"The water bottle filling stations help the schools to create healthy environments that promote water consumption by students and school staff throughout the school day," said Dr. May Okihiro, pediatrician at the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine and director of HICORE. "We think these environmental changes, along with health education and healthy beverage policies that we're also promoting, will go a long way to support healthier choices."

For more information about the Hawaii 5210 program, visit www.hawaii5210.com.

About 'Ohana Health Plan

'Ohana Health Plan has more than 250 employees in Hawaii and serves approximately 53,000 members through its offices in Kapolei, Honolulu, Hilo and Kahului. 'Ohana Health Plan has been able to take WellCare's national experience and develop an 'Ohana Health Plan care model that addresses local members' health care and health coordination needs. As of Sept. 30, 2017, 'Ohana Health Plan serves approximately 47,000 Medicaid members, 5,000 Medicare Advantage members, and 1,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) members in Hawaii. For more information about 'Ohana Health Plan, please visit the company's website at www.ohanahealthplan.com.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. WCG focuses exclusively on providing government-sponsored managed care services, primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs. The company serves approximately 4.3 million members nationwide as of Sept. 30, 2017. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.

About Hawaii 5210

The Hawaii 5210 "Let's Go!" initiative promotes healthy living to prevent childhood obesity in Hawaii through a coordinated, collaborative, locally relevant health education campaign. The 5-2-1-0 slogan names the healthy living message by encouraging behaviors associated with healthy weight in children. Hawaii 5210 is based at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and is led by HICORE, the Hawaii Initiative for Childhood Obesity Research and Education. To learn more, visit www.hawaii5210.com.

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ohana-health-plan-helps-students-at-haiku-elementary-stay-active-300562512.html

SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.