Peach State Health Plan Partners with Memorial University Medical Center for Informative Teen Pregnancy Prevention Symposium

(Vocus/PRWEB) January 19, 2011

On Dec. 3, Peach State Health Plan™ (Peach State), in partnership with Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, GA., hosted a symposium and panel discussion on teen pregnancy prevention. Headlined by Michele Ozumba – President and CEO of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention – the symposium and panel covered a wide range of topics around teen pregnancy including sex education for teens, unplanned pregnancy, teen drug use during pregnancy and abused teens.

“Adolescent pregnancy is a serious problem in the United States, and Georgia has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the country,” says Patrick Healy, president and CEO of Peach State. “It is critical that we address this problem head on and provide our youth with the knowledge to make appropriate decisions.”

Peach State awarded two 2010 Excellence in Teen Pregnancy Prevention Awards to Pamela Gallup, MD and the Chatham County Board of Health in recognition for their efforts in teen pregnancy prevention outreach and education. According to Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Georgia has the eighth highest teen birth rate in the nation. Over 22,500 teen pregnancies occur each year in Georgia. That amount equals 62 new teen pregnancies each day – or more than two teen pregnancies an hour. In addition, adolescent pregnancy prevention is an effective poverty reduction strategy.

“It is important to remember that the poverty rate for children to teen mothers who have never married and have not graduated from high school is 78 percent in Georgia,” says J. Dean Greeson, MD, VP, Medical Affairs for Peach State. “Adolescent pregnancy is an issue that affects everyone in the state of Georgia, and we are trying to help solve the problem in whatever way we can.”

Peach State distributed copies of the award winning teen book, “Off the Chain” during the ceremony to the attendees and participants. The book’s author, Michelle Bain wrote the book in efforts to answer many of the questions teens have about life’s important issues.

About Peach State Health Plan
Peach State Health Plan (Peach State) is a Care Management Organization that serves the Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids ™ population in partnership with Georgia Families. Peach State is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a leading multi-line healthcare enterprise offering both core Medicaid and specialty services. Information regarding Peach State is available via the Internet at http://www.pshp.com.

About Centene Corporation
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading multi-line healthcare enterprise that provides programs and related services to the rising number of under-insured and uninsured individuals. Many receive benefits provided under Medicaid, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD), Foster Care and long-term care, in addition to other state-sponsored programs, and Medicare (Special Needs Plans). Centene’s CeltiCare subsidiary offers states unique “exchange-based” and other cost-effective coverage solutions for low-income populations. The Company operates local health plans and offers a range of health insurance solutions. It also contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide specialty services including behavioral health, life and health management, managed vision, telehealth services, and pharmacy benefits management. More information regarding Centene is available at http://www.centene.com.

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