Fidelis Care Partners With Catholic Health Services of Long Island's Healthy Sundays Program

Free Health Screenings and Information on Low or No-Cost Health Insurance

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY (03/06/2012)(readMedia)-- Fidelis Care, the New York State Catholic Health Plan, is pleased to join Catholic Health Services (CHS) of Long Island for its Healthy Sundays Program. Healthy Sundays, which earned the Healthcare Association of New York State's 2011 Community Health Improvement Award, exemplifies CHS's mission of caring for those in need.

Healthy Sundays was launched in 2005 to address the needs of medically underserved Long Islanders. The multifaceted program offers a continuum of care, beginning with free health screenings provided by CHS staff through a network of more than 35 parishes and community centers across Nassau and Suffolk. If needed, individuals are then referred to CHS hospitals or its other facilities such as the Bishop McHugh Health Center (with locations in Bay Shore and Hicksville), where they are cared for regardless of their ability to pay. CHS's Healthy Sundays Program is a natural fit with Fidelis Care's mission to serve the poor, medically underserved, and uninsured. Fidelis Care and CHS believe that access to quality health care is a basic human right.

New York State has a significant population of uninsured residents under the age of 65, including more than 2.3 million adults between the ages of 19 and 64, as well as more than 343,000 children age 18 and younger. In Nassau and Suffolk counties, more than 256,000 adults and approximately 43,000 children do not have the security that health insurance provides. Fidelis Care and CHS are committed to reaching these individuals and ensuring that New Yorkers have access to affordable, quality health insurance coverage.

Fidelis Care representatives will be at the following Healthy Sundays events to help the uninsured apply for coverage:

March 11: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

St. Patrick Parish, 235 Glen Street, Glen Cove, NY

Free blood pressure and glucose screenings

March 18: 9 a.m. - Noon

Blessed Sacrament Parish, 201 North Central Avenue, Valley Stream, NY

Free blood pressure and glucose screenings

March 25: 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

St. Martha Parish, 546 Greengrove Avenue, Uniondale, NY

Free blood pressure and glucose screenings

April 15: 1 - 3 p.m.

St. Frances Cabrini Parish, 134 Middle Country Road, Coram, NY

Free blood pressure and glucose screenings

April 22: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

St. Anne Parish, 88 Second Avenue, Brentwood, NY

Free blood pressure and glucose screenings

April 22: 4 - 7 p.m.

Church of the Resurrection, 50 Granny Road, Farmingville, NY

Free blood pressure and glucose screenings

April 23 (Monday): 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

St. Edward Parish, 205 Jackson Avenue, Syosset, NY

Free blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings

April 29: 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

St. Luke Parish, 266 Wicks Road, Brentwood, NY

Free blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings

May 6: 8 a.m. - Noon

St. Hugh of Lincoln, 1450 New York Avenue, Huntington Station, NY

Free blood pressure and glucose screenings

May 6: 5 - 7 p.m.

St. John the Evangelist, 546 St. Johns Place, Riverhead, NY

Free blood pressure and glucose screenings

Those unable to attend a Healthy Sundays event are encouraged to contact Fidelis Care at 1-888-FIDELIS (1-888-343-3547) to make an appointment to meet with a Fidelis Care representative at a convenient time and location, including in the comfort and privacy of an applicant's home. Fidelis Care representatives are also available to help existing members complete their annual recertification.

Fidelis Care offers free or low-cost health insurance through New York State's Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus and Medicaid Managed Care programs. Members are covered for regular checkups, preventive care, routine screenings, hospital and emergency care, eye exams, dental care, and more. In addition, Fidelis Care also offers a variety of benefit options for seniors through Fidelis Medicare Advantage, Dual Advantage, Medicaid Advantage Plus, and Fidelis Care at Home programs, available in certain counties.

To apply for enrollment in Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus, or Medicaid Managed Care through Fidelis Care, please bring proof of age, income, and address.

With more than 740,000 members in 59 counties statewide, Fidelis Care was founded on the belief that all New Yorkers should have access to affordable, quality health insurance. Members have access to more than 48,000 health care professionals statewide. Regional offices are located in Albany, Syracuse, Amherst, and Rego Park (Queens), with satellite offices in Rochester, Poughkeepsie, and Suffern.

For more information, call Fidelis Care toll-free at 1-888-FIDELIS (1-888-343-3547) or visit fideliscare.org.