Managed Health Services (MHS) Honored With National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management

Online, June 13, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Managed Health Services (MHS), an Indiana-based health maintenance organization serving Hoosier Healthwise and the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), has received the prestigious Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2011 National Environmental Leadership Award (Health Plan Division) in Asthma Management for its "Nurture for Our Asthma" program.

The award, presented during the 2011 National Asthma Forum held June 9-10, 2011, in Washington, D.C., is the nation's highest honor for asthma control programs. MHS' comprehensive asthma management program integrates a hands-on approach with a flexible outreach methodology that can be customized to suit the different age groups and populations its serves that are affected by asthma.

"Managed Health Services is honored to receive such an esteemed award for this important program for our members," said MHS President and CEO Patrick Rooney. "Our goal is to help our asthmatic members lead healthy and active lives through education and access to the care they need."

MHS began its asthma disease management program in 2007, working closely with Nurtur, MHS' partner that provides life, health and wellness programs. The program includes educational pieces that are culturally sensitive; proactive identification of members; stratification into appropriate levels of intervention including home visits; and robust outcomes reporting. It also includes aggressive care coordination to ensure patients have basic services such as transportation to the doctor, electricity to power the nebulizer, and a clean, safe home environment.

"This award demonstrates the strong team effort between MHS and Nurtur to work in partnership to offer specialized programs focused on improving outcomes for our members," said Robert Baker, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs for MHS.

Nurtur's asthma disease management program has been accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) since 2002, and URAC since 2009. The program has received numerous national awards including a TOP 10 Disease Management companies by Health Industry Research 2000-2006, a National Health Information Award from the Health Information Resource Center 1999-2006, and a Gold Recipient Award in E-Health Care in 2006.

For more information about MHS, visit MHS online at mhsindiana.com.