PRESS RELEASE

PHC Launches Pediatric Fitness and Obesity Prevention Initiative
Program Made Possible by Grants from Schering-Plough Foundation, Boston Scientific Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 14, 2004-PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY- The Plainfield Health Center (PHC), one of nineteen Federally Qualified Health Centers in New Jersey, dedicated to providing cost effective primary health care services for the residents of Plainfield and surrounding communities, announced the launch of a three year program, Get Fit, Stay Fit, Have Fun, aimed at pediatric fitness and obesity prevention amongst children. Initially, the program will target third graders at Washington Community School in Plainfield, home of one of PHC’s satellite sites, The Healthy Place. The launch event itself featured four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs leading the entire school in a special exercise assembly.

The program, Get Fit, Stay Fit, Have Fun was developed as an inclusive health collaborative which promotes a life-long commitment to proper nutrition and physical activity. Participants will take part in regular, fun exercise modules, learn about proper nutrition, and be encouraged to develop life-long, healthy habits. The PHC team will keep parents informed of their child's progress and provide them with the information and tools that they need to support their child in the program. After third grade students join the program, they will have the option to continue throughout their elementary school career. Children this age were chosen as they are old enough to follow a program, but young enough to have not yet experienced the major physical changes associated with adolescence.

The program incorporates HRSA's Care Model that aims to impact the outcomes of health disparities among minority populations. PHC has used this model as the foundation of its tremendously successful asthma program, initially piloted at Washington Community School and later spread to PHC’s entire pediatric population.

“Pediatric obesity is a national issue, a statewide issue, and is reflected in the Plainfield community,” according to Mayor Albert T. McWilliams. “Plainfield is fortunate to have the Plainfield Health Center as a committed partner in the long-term health of the children of the community,” said Mayor McWilliams.

"This program is the beginning of an ongoing effort to prevent pediatric obesity in our communities and to help our children remain healthy,” said Dr. Patti R. Rose, President and CEO of the Plainfield Health Center. PHC has already studied and developed an initial assessment of the fitness and risk for overweight and obesity amongst the third grade students at Washington Community School. There are over 40 third grade children enrolled in the program to date.

The three-year program has been made possible by grants from funding partners Schering-Plough Foundation, Boston Scientific Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, New Jersey Health Initiatives.

To learn more about the Plainfield Health Center’s Pediatric Fitness and Obesity Prevention Program, Get Fit, Stay Fit, Have Fun, or to enroll a child, please call The Healthy Place on 908.731.4263.

About The Plainfield Health Center

The Plainfield Health Center, incorporated as the Plainfield Neighborhood Health Services Corporation, was born in 1969 under the auspices of the 1960's Model Cities Neighborhood Program. Led by a dedicated group of community activists, the Center was initially created to provide accessible health care to the residents of the West End of Plainfield.

Since then, the Center has grown, added more services, increased the number of specialties of professional health staff, and expanded its reach to the entire City of Plainfield and neighboring communities, and to the City of Elizabeth. Today, the Plainfield Health Center serves more than 21,000 patients annually. Its total care program provides adult medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, adolescent medicine, school based services, dentistry and ancillary support services.

About Joetta Clark Diggs

As a 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 Olympian, Joetta Clark Diggs has been America's premier middle distance runner for over three decades. Today, as the president, of Joetta Sports & Beyond LLC she spends her time delivering high-energy motivational seminars to schools, businesses, and other organizations across the country. Joetta also is the daughter of noted educator Joe Clark, the subject of the movie, “Lean on Me.” For more information visit www.joettasportsandbeyond.com.

About Schering-Plough Corporation

Schering-Plough is a global science-based health care company with leading prescription, consumer and animal health products. Through internal research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough discovers, develops, manufactures and markets advanced drug therapies to meet important medical needs. Schering-Plough’s vision is to earn the trust of the physicians, patients and customers served by its more than 30,000 people around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and its Web site is www.schering-plough.com.

About Boston Scientific Foundation

In 2002, Boston Scientific formalized its charitable giving effort with the establishment of the Boston Scientific Foundation. As a medical device company dedicated to improving lives through innovation, Boston Scientific created the Foundation to support innovative programs that improve lives in two important areas: health and education.
The Foundation's health-related investments seek to improve the health of individuals with the greatest unmet needs, while its education-related investments seek to improve educational opportunities and skill development for those at risk of not fulfilling their potential. For more information, please visit: www.bostonscientific.com.

About Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, NJ, is the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. It concentrates its grantmaking in four goal areas: to assure that all Americans have access to quality health care at reasonable cost; to improve quality of care and support for people with chronic health conditions; to promote healthy communities and lifestyles; and to reduce the personal, social and economic harm caused by substance abuse – tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. For more information, please visit www.rwjf.org.

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