Home Find a Health Insurance Plan Find a Health Care Provider For Members For Employers For Health Care Providers
Programs for Change. Committed to serving our neighbors and community.

Press Release

'Healthy' Competition Aims To Educate Students About Dangerous MRSA Superbug

IBC, The Franklin Institute, and HCIF sponsor fun, creative web contest for kids grades 3-12.

Philadelphia, PA - October 14, 2008 - Spreading the word, not the germ, about the dangers of a potentially fatal superbug is the goal of Students Fight MRSA, a new educational campaign launched in the Philadelphia region through a joint partnership of Independence Blue Cross, The Health Care Improvement Foundation, and The Franklin Institute.

Students Fight MRSA is a grassroots effort to raise awareness about MRSA , or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, among students in grades 3-12 through a creative web contest. MRSA has become a serious health issue for schools across the country, and outbreaks of the infection have resulted in widespread fear, school closures, student illness, and even death on rare occasion.

Students may submit entries beginning October 20 in two categories — Audio/Visual and Graphic/Written — through www.studentsfightmrsa.com. Criteria for choosing winners include educational value, creativity, work quality, and how interesting the material would be to diverse audiences. Through online voting, students will pick the winners from a group of finalists in each category. The contest ends January 31 and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at The Franklin Institute.

“As a community leader committed to improving and promoting good health, we believe everyone — from parents and grandparents, to teens and even young children — needs to be educated about health risks, especially an infection like MRSA, which can be easily prevented through some basic safety practices like hand washing,” said Dr. Richard Snyder, senior vice president of Health Services for Independence Blue Cross. “The contest is based on a simple premise that the best way to reach the YouTube Generation is through messages created by students, for students.”

To encourage students to participate, the sponsors are offering cash prizes totaling more than $8,000, and the opportunity for winning entries to be used in a broad MRSA awareness campaign with schools and other community organizations next year.

“The educational component of Students Fight MRSA shouldn’t end when we announce the winners,” said Kate Flynn, President of the Health Care Improvement Foundation, a non-profit health and safety organization. “That’s why an important part of the campaign is to make some of the winning entries available to all schools and many community groups so that more people can learn the importance of infection prevention.”

For more information about the contest, including eligibility, rules, and prizes, visit www.studentsfightmrsa.com. For more detailed information about MRSA, how it’s prevented, transmitted, and treated, visit the CDC website.

About the Students Fight MSRA Sponsors:

Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is a leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania. IBC and its affiliates provide coverage to nearly 3.4 million people. For 70 years, Independence Blue Cross has offered high-quality health care coverage tailored to meet the changing needs of members, employers, and health care professionals. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Independence Blue Cross also works closely with the Health Care Improvement Foundation through its sponsorship of the Partnership for Patient Care, an innovative multi-year initiative created in 2005 designed to improve patient safety at all hospitals in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Health Care Improvement Foundation
The Health Care Improvement Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to building partnerships for better health care in southeastern Pennsylvania, with a multi-dimensional focus on health care safety.

Franklin Institute
Founded in honor of America’s first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is a renowned and innovative leader in the field of science and technology learning, as well as a dynamic center of activity. It is dedicated to creating a passion for science by offering new and exciting access to science and technology in ways that would dazzle and delight its namesake. For more information, please visit www.fi.edu.

Important information about links to other sites