AtlantiCare Community Healthcare Access Program to benefit displaced casino workers, community

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Oct 16, 2014, 05:53 ET

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Oct. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AtlantiCare President and CEO David Tilton today shared details of the AtlantiCare Community Healthcare Access Program – or AtlantiCare CHAP. Funded by the AtlantiCare Foundation, the program is intended to assist residents of Atlantic, Cape May and southern Ocean counties who recently lost jobs at Atlantic City casinos.

Left to right are David Tilton, president and CEO, AtlantiCare; Eugene Arnone, chair, AtlantiCare Health System Board; Evelyn Benton, executive director, Community FoodBank of New Jersey-Southern Branch; and Robyn Begley, RN, DNP, chief nursing officer, AtlantiCare and FoodBank Advisory Board member. The FoodBank is among six charities to which AtlantiCare is donating a total of $500,000 through its Community Healthcare Access Program...

"AtlantiCare has served our community since 1898," said Tilton. "Sometimes it takes more than medicine to help us reach our vision of building healthy communities. True to our mission of delivering health and healing for all people, we evaluated how best to help our friends, family members and neighbors who have been impacted by the recent casino closures."

For those who qualify, the program includes education, counseling and assistance around health insurance coverage and options; health insurance premium subsidy support; and a resolution for outstanding medical bills for services received from AtlantiCare before September 30th of this year. AtlantiCare will also make $500,000 in donations to charities that support residents in AtlantiCare's service area, in addition to the nearly $400,000 in community benefit donations it makes annually. View additional details here.

"AtlantiCare's Community Healthcare Access Program will serve as a vital lifeline to thousands of workers and their families," said New Jersey Health Commissioner Mary E. O'Dowd.

"I applaud AtlantiCare for caring about those individuals who lost their jobs due to the recent closings of casinos," said Atlantic City Mayor Guardian. "It's a tough time for us who live in South Jersey, but when organizations like AtlantiCare step up to do what they can to ease the pain, we must thank them. Thank you, AtlantiCare."

View the press conference and AtlantiCare CHAP instructional videos here.

To learn more, visit www.atlanticare.org/chap.

AtlantiCare is an integrated system of services designed to help people achieve optimal health. It includes AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, AtlantiCare Health Engagement, the AtlantiCare Foundation, and AtlantiCare Health Services. A 2009 Malcolm Baldrige Award winner, AtlantiCare was also included in Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work in Healthcare in 2010. ARMC became the 105th hospital in the nation to attain status as a Magnet™ designated hospital in March of 2004 and was redesignated a Magnet™ hospital in 2008 and 2013.

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SOURCE AtlantiCare