Healthy Kids Press Contact
Ashley Carr, Chief Marketing Officer,
(850) 701-6160, [email protected].

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation awarded the 1998 "Excellence in Quality Award" and the "Satisfaction Speaks Award" to AvMed Health Plan for their efforts in providing quality health benefits and services to the Healthy Kids participants of Alachua County. Currently, the Healthy Kids program insures more than 73,000 children throughout the State of Florida. Of these children, 1,493 receive benefits through AvMed Health Plan.

Criteria for the "Excellence in Quality Award" include suggestions for specific disease management programs and identification of wellness programs that affect children. Submission of a success story or newspaper article reflecting health plan satisfaction and proof of recognition that illustrates Healthy Kids' member satisfaction are two of the items looked at for the "Satisfaction Speaks Award".

"Health plans are a vital element to the success of the Florida Healthy Kids program," says Rose Naff, Executive Director of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation. "We look to them to provide our Healthy Kids participants with excellent services and are happy to recognize AvMed for their efforts in doing so."

Healthy Kids does extensive research when choosing a health provider for counties participating in the program. Only the health plans who can meet Healthy Kids specific standards are selected to insure Florida's children. AvMed is among this elite group.

AvMed holds full three-year accreditations from the National Committee for Quality Assurance and the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. They currently insure nearly 80,000 children between the ages of 0-19 in Florida. In 1996, AvMed began serving the Healthy Kids members in Alachua County, bringing with it one of the strongest pediatric managed care networks in North Florida.

After a thorough review of the submissions for the awards, the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation concluded that AvMed deserves this high recognition. Contributing factors to their accomplishments include implementation of disease management programs, such as the "EZ Breathin'" program for pediatric asthma patients, high satisfaction scores on subjects including ease of getting referrals, choosing a doctor and complaint volume, and documentation from members detailing success stories.

The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation announced the winner of the quality awards at its last Board of Directors meeting. The award will be presented to AvMed on April 15 at 10:00 a.m. at the Board of Directors meeting.

Healthy Kids Press Contact,
Ashley Carr, Chief Marketing Officer,
(850) 701-6160, [email protected].