Harmony Health Plan Honors CommUnity Health Heroes

CHICAGO and TAMPA, Fla., July 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Harmony Health Plan, Inc., a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. WCG, recently honored four local champions who are dedicated to helping their community members live better, healthier lives.

The 2017 Harmony CommUnity Hero awards were given in four categories, health care, education, advocacy and community support, based on nominations received from throughout Northern Illinois. The winners are:

• Health Care – Estibaliz (Lisa) Gonzalez, case manager at VNA Health Care, Aurora Illinois. As a case manager, Gonzalez visits patients in their homes and hospitals to ensure they have the best quality of care. According to her nominator, she "...understands the challenges and barriers our patients face. Her positive 'can-do' attitude makes patients feel comfortable. They trust and relate to her, and she quickly becomes their go-to contact at VNA." In addition, Gonzalez has a 100 percent contact rate in finding patients who have missed critical appointments, helping to ensure they continue to receive vital health care resources.

• Education – Donovan R. Robinson, dean of students, Chicago Public School. "…Robinson takes the time to learn what is going on in a student's life which may be affecting his/her behavior and school performance. He links students and their families to the necessary social supports so education can be a priority and not worrying about where the next meal will come from or the domestic violence situation they may be witnessing," said Robinson's nomination. A firm believer in restorative practices, Robinson helped decrease suspension rates at his high school from 858 students a year to 72 students annually, during a six-year period.

• Advocacy – Nan Anderson, former advisory council chair of AgeOptions, Evanston, Illinois. A recipient of the Illinois Department of Aging Governor's Unique Achievement Award, Anderson is an active advocate for her entire community. Her professional life includes working with Girl Scouts of the USA, the YWCA, and establishing a domestic violence shelter. Her nominator said, "Nan gets it. She has a private caseload of neighbors, friends and community agency clients who look to her for guidance…. Nan does her homework and infects others with a sense of accomplishment as well as the knowledge that together we can and will support each other …."

• Community Support – Elizabeth Galik, executive director of River City Community Development Center (R CITY), Chicago, Illinois. R CITY serves the West Humboldt Park community. It is committed to supporting children from cradle to career with a web of community support and out-of-school programs that build strong foundations for children, relationship skills for adolescents, and apprenticeships for teens. "From my perspective, the key word that comes to mind when I think of Beth is RESPONSE. She responds to needs, she shows compassion, she looks for solutions rather than only seeing the problems around her," stated her nomination.

"Harmony Health Plan is proud to recognize these outstanding individuals who are working to help ensure our communities have access to vital services and resources," said David Reynolds, Harmony acting president and WellCare north division senior vice president. "We are committed to providing our members and communities with the resources they need to reach their optimal health. This cannot be achieved without the support of men and women like the ones honored as 2017 Harmony CommUnity Heroes."

Honorees received a $500 donation from Harmony Health Plan to the charity of their choice.

As of March 31, 2017, WellCare and Harmony Health Plan serve approximately 205,000 members in Illinois, including 156,000 Medicaid members, 17,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 32,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members.

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. WellCare serves approximately 4.1 million members nationwide as of March 31, 2017. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.

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SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.