‘Ohana Health Plan Recognizes Better Tomorrows and Towers at Kuhio Park for Member Initiative Support — The “It Takes a Village” Program Successfully Reduces Member Care Gaps

SEPTEMBER 22, 2017: ‘Ohana Health Plan, a WellCare Health Plans, Inc. company, recently recognized its community partner, Better Tomorrows, for supporting the success of the “It Takes a Village – Preventive Health Care” initiative at the Towers at Kuhio Park.

“We’re grateful to our partners at Better Tomorrows and the Towers at Kuhio Park for contributing to the great success of our ‘It Takes a Village’ program,” said Scott Sivik, state president of ‘Ohana. “We’re dedicated to helping our members connect to vital preventive care in order to support a better quality of life.”

Last year, thanks to the “It Takes a Village” program and its incentive program, ‘Ohana was able to close 50 percent of the care gaps in the Towers at Kuhio Park community by successfully motivating members to participate in vital preventive care such as immunizations, cancer screenings, women’s health screenings and more.

In order to proactively addresses health issues of the Towers of Kuhio Park residents, the “It Takes a Village” program worked with Better Tomorrows to encourage members of the community to regularly visit their physicians and participate in important preventive services. Prevention and early detection can boost health outcomes while reducing costs to the health care system.

Preventive services have been linked to promoting better health and wellness in patients. In fact, many costly chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, are highly preventable. According to the CDC, chronic conditions are responsible for 7 of every 10 deaths in the U.S. each year. They also account for 75 percent of the country’s health spending.

“We are extremely proud to have been singled out for this honor by ‘Ohana Health Plan” noted Rebecca Tone, Better Tomorrows’ President and CEO. Ms. Tone further stated that “the true value of this recognition is knowing that the residents of Kuhio Park are on track to lead healthy and productive lives thanks to the ‘It Takes a Village’ program”.

The physical and mental well-being of the residents it serves are a critical of goal of Better Tomorrows. In this endeavor, Better Tomorrows has developed and provides Healthy Lifestyle programs in all of its communities.  The Healthy Lifestyle programs includes food access, nutritional education and healthy cooking classes, preventative healthcare measures and community gardens. The Healthy Lifestyle program has been designed to serve Better Tomorrows residents of all ages in the over 100 communities it serves.

On September 16, 2017, Ohana hosted a recognition ceremony for Better Tomorrows and the Towers at Kuhio Park. The ceremony included a check presentation and the untying of the maile lei — a traditional Hawaiian blessing.

About ‘Ohana Health Plan

‘Ohana Health Plan has more than 250 employees in Hawaii and serves approximately 54,000 members through its offices in Kapolei, Honolulu, Hilo and Kahului. ‘Ohana has been able to take WellCare’s national experience and develop an ‘Ohana care model that addresses local members’ health care and health coordination needs. As of June 30, 2017, ‘Ohana serves approximately 47,000 Medicaid members, 6,000 Medicare Advantage members, and 1,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) members in Hawaii. For more information about ‘Ohana, please visit the company’s website at www.ohanahealthplan.com.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: 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 4.4 million members nationwide as of June 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 Better Tomorrows

Better Tomorrows is a non-profit organization committed to supporting vulnerable housing communities by providing comprehensive programming and individualized case management services that empower children, seniors, families and neighborhoods to thrive. They serve over 26,000 individuals in need across the U.S. To learn more, visit www.bettertomorrows.org.

About the Towers at Kuhio Park (The Michaels Organization)

The Towers at Kuhio Park is owned and managed by The Michaels Organization, which has led a $135 million revitalization of the Towers in 2013 in partnership with the Hawaii Housing Authority and The Vitus Group. Serving more than 140,000 residents in 380 communities across 35 states, D.C., and the USVI, The Michaels Organization is a national leader in residential real estate with full-service capabilities in development, property management, finance, and tax credit syndication. For more information, go to www.TMO.com.