Faith Leaders, Health Care CEOs to Support Covering Uninsured Children As ‘Moral Imperative’ at Interfaith Summit Monday, April 23 in Southfield

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., April 20 /PRNewswire/ — Faith leaders, heads of The Detroit Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, Henry Ford Health System, Oakwood Health Care, Inc., St. John Health, Trinity Health and 400-plus community members will gather to launch Cover the Uninsured Week 2007 (April 23-29) and underline the need to provide health coverage for Michigan’s 160,000 uninsured children. SCHIP provides health insurance to kids whose parents are either not offered health insurance through their jobs or cannot afford the coverage that is offered.

Currently Congress is debating how much money to devote to kids’ coverage. The Interfaith Summit will highlight the effect that reauthorizing and expanding the program would have on Michigan’s children. Faith leaders will receive information on how they can help enroll eligible children in MIChild.

   What:  Covering The Uninsured: A Moral Imperative — Media Briefing &          Interfaith Summit:    Who:   Dr. John Lumpkin, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Rabbi Steve          Gutow, Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Dr. Herman Gray, DMC          Children’s Hospital of Michigan; Dr. Ron Davis, American Medical          Association; Janet Olszewski, Michigan Department of Community          Health; Spencer Johnson, Michigan Health & Hospital Association;          William Crouchman, Macomb County Board of Commissioners. Interfaith          leaders including: Imam Hassan Qazwini, Islamic Center of America;          Bishop Daniel Flores, Archdiocese of Detroit; Rev. Dr. Kevin          Turman, MOSES; Rabbi Joseph Krakow, Congregation Sharey Zedek.    Where: Southfield Westin, 1500 Town Center, Southfield 48075, Algonquin          Ballroom    When:  Monday, April 23 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Media Briefing at 11:00 AM          followed by speakers.)   

Sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Cover the Uninsured campaign is focused on the need to secure health coverage for all Americans. Now in its fifth year, the campaign is focused in 2007 on the reauthorization of SCHIP and enrolling eligible families in available insurance programs. For more information on campaign activities, go to http://www.covertheuninsured.org/.

Cover the Uninsured

CONTACT: Patricia McCarthy of Cover the Uninsured , +1-313-882-9200, or+1-313 418-4155 (cell)

Web site: http://www.covertheuninsured.org/