A coalition of more than 20 community-based organizations, agencies, and hospitals will be actively working to publicize the very real need of providing medical insurance for all Orange County children and their families during the week of May 10 – 16.

The coalition will be participating in a nationwide campaign called Cover the Uninsured Week, which will focus attention on the plight of the millions of Americans who lack healthcare coverage. Cover the Uninsured Week is the largest mobilization effort in history around the issue of the uninsured. Cover the Uninsured Week will feature more than 1,000 grassroots events in communities across the United States, including the release of new research, campus activities, health and enrollment fairs, business activities, interfaith activities, and more.

In Orange County, the coalition is planning a number of events to focus attention on Cover the Uninsured Week. Highlights will include:

• A kickoff event on May 7 and 8 as part of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
• Presentation of a resolution on May 11 to the county Board of Supervisors.
• Health fairs and enrollment events throughout the county during May.
• A faith-based outreach campaign.

Participants in the Orange County coalition include:

American Cancer Society Relay for Life, CaliforniaKids, CalOptima, Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics, Community Action Partnership of Orange County, Health Care Council of Orange County, HealthCare Foundation for Orange County, Kaiser Permanente, Latino Health Access, Maternal Outreach Management System (MOMS), Mission Hospital, Orange County Community Housing Corporation, Orange County Congregation Community Organization, Orange County Health Care Agency, Orange County Social Services Agency, Santa Ana Unified School District, St. Joseph Health System, St. Joseph Hospital, St. Jude Medical Center, UC Irvine Medical Center, University Synagogue, and United Way of Orange County.

The coalition has established two key goals for Cover the Uninsured Week:

• In the short term, to enroll 100 percent of Orange County children in one of the existing, non-integrated programs, and to inform business owners, community residents and faith-based organizations about current opportunities to expand coverage to children through workplace enrollment and CaliforniaKids. To engage the business, civic and faith-based communities in efforts to sustain current programs and expand coverage for 100 percent of local children.
• To begin creating one comprehensive program for all Orange County children and to streamline the enrollment process. To educate policy makers, business leaders and community residents about the need for and importance of a long-range strategy to assure health coverage for all children.

On a national level, diverse groups are coming together to find solutions to the problem of covering the uninsured. Diverse national organizations, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO, are organizing the Week along with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California Endowment and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The involvement of such a diverse group of organizations representing thousands of Americans in every sector of society, including business owners, union members, educators, students, health insurers, hospital admin- istrators, health consumers, physicians, nurses, faith leaders and their congregants, and others, proves that Americans can come together to raise awareness and find solutions.

For more information about the coalition’s work, please go to the website: http://www.stjhs.org/frontpage/ctu.htm

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