Essence Healthcare, Lumeris donate 15,000 school supplies to Push for Pencils

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Essence Healthcare and Lumeris employees collected 15,307 school supplies and $770 in cash donations for the annual KidSmart Push for Pencils school supply drive this summer — smashing the companies’ previous donation record of 2,435 items and placing it among the top drives in the St. Louis metropolitan area this year.

“We asked participants to increase their drives by 20% this year — and [Essence and Lumeris] blew that one away”

KidSmart’s annual community-wide campaign collects basic school supplies, then distributes them to the region’s 90,000 schoolchildren in need through a free supply store. The store stocks tools for learning like notepaper, pencils, markers, crayons and glue. The organization also accepts cash donations to provide additional supplies and educational resources.

“A commitment to education is vital to a thriving community,” said Paul Hott, vice president of Human Resources at Essence and Lumeris. “We are proud to support an organization that does such important work to enrich the lives of St. Louis children, and of our employees for their generous donations.”

The Essence and Lumeris donation will rank among KidSmart’s top drives this year, said Jessi Dowell, store operations manager at KidSmart.

“[Essence and Lumeris] have just 400 to 500 employees and raised 15,000 supplies,” she said. “That’s absolutely amazing.” A typical drive for a company with a similar number of employees raises 3,000 to 5,000 supplies.

KidSmart increased its donation goal to 800,000 items in 2012, up from 420,000 last year, in order to reach more of the area’s schoolchildren in need of supplies. “We asked participants to increase their drives by 20% this year — and [Essence and Lumeris] blew that one away” with an increase of more than 525%, Dowell said. “That’s absolutely amazing, too.”

This is the third year Essence Healthcare and Lumeris have collected supplies for Push for Pencils. With this year’s drive, the companies have donated a total of 20,384 items to the organization.

Essence Healthcare is the top-rated Medicare Advantage plan in the St. Louis region, serving 34,000 members in Missouri and Illinois. Sister company Lumeris provides the technology and services that have helped Essence earn this 4.5 star rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

ABOUT ESSENCE HEALTHCARE

Essence Healthcare offers people with Medicare comprehensive and affordable health insurance that focuses on wellness, care coordination and personal service. Essence’s Medicare Advantage HMOs bundle hospital, medical and prescription drug coverage together into one plan with one affordable monthly premium, and include additional benefits not covered under the Original Medicare program. Essence’s Medicare Advantage plans are designed and directed in partnership with local doctors, and are among the nation’s highest rated according to the federal agency that administers Medicare.

Essence Healthcare is a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. The star rating referenced in this announcement is specific to Essence contract H2610 for plan year 2012. The superlatives “top-rated” and “highly rated” are substantiated by this star rating. Plan performance star ratings are assessed each year and may change from one year to the next. The benefit information provided is a brief summary, not a complete description of benefits. For more information, contact the plan. Benefits, formulary, pharmacy network, premium, and/or copayments or coinsurance may change each year.

ABOUT LUMERIS

Lumeris provides the information technology, guidance, and operational services necessary for hospitals and health plans to transform their organizations into high-performing accountable delivery systems. Our revolutionary technology platform for accountable care integrates data from disparate systems across the continuum of care, provides complete visibility into the clinical and financial performance of an enterprise, and delivers applications and information to key stakeholders at the point of thought. This improves coordination and enables timely value-based health care decisions that lead to optimal health and cost outcomes. The depth and breadth of our solutions — combined with the company’s extensive real-world experience in accountable care — make Lumeris the ideal partner for any health care organization seeking the significant benefits of a better connected, aligned, and informed accountable delivery system.