Health Care Company's Employees Build Playground
for Orthodox Jewish School
The Playground is the First Ever at the School
Philadelphia, PA – More than 27 employees from Keystone Mercy Health Plan recently built a new, safe playground for Politz Hebrew Academy, an Orthodox Jewish school in Northeast Philadelphia, as a part of the company’s Safe Playground Program. The program, which was created in 2007, allows children to participate in healthy physical activity by creating safe play spaces.
The goal of the program is to decrease the number of preventable injuries sustained by children because of the lack of safe play areas and after-school activities. According to officials at Kaboom, a nationwide program that specializes in childcare issues, the construction of safe playgrounds, education, supervised activities and strong adult mentors have led to a reduction in preventable injuries among children. In addition, research done by Kaboom.org has shown that activity on playgrounds benefits the physical, mental and social development of children, which may lead to increases in academic performance.
In brief remarks to the 280 students that attended the construction ceremony, Anne Morrissey, president, Pennsylvania Managed Care, Keystone Mercy Health Plan, advised them that an essential part of their day is the time when “You can get up and out of the class room, stretch your legs outside and play with your friends. Partaking in physical activity allows you to become more focused in the classroom afterward, which can improve your grades.”
Morrissey, who is a regular volunteer at the Safe Playground builds, said, “For us, here at Keystone Mercy, giving a couple of hours out of the day to build something that has the potential to brighten a child’s day and better his or her future is a privilege.”
“This is the first playground ever built at Politz Hebrew Academy,” said, Besie Katz, the school’s principal. “It was long overdue, and we are very blessed to have it.”
The playground at Politz Hebrew Academy is the sixth playground built as a part of the Safe Playground Program. Others have included Drexel Neumann Academy and Village Charter School, in Chester, Pa., Logan Elementary School and Luis Muñoz-Marin Elementary School, in Philadelphia, and Hancock Elementary School, in Norristown, Pa. At these schools, Keystone Mercy employees have transformed once vacant lots of cement, gravel or grass, into basketball courts and jungle gyms, painted murals, and finished the day with a safe place for many of children to play for years to come.
About Keystone Mercy Health Plan
Keystone Mercy Health Plan, a member of the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of companies, is Pennsylvania’s largest Medical Assistance (Medicaid) managed care health plan serving more than 300,000 Medical Assistance recipients in Southeastern Pennsylvania, including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Keystone Mercy is a mission-driven, health care ministry of the Sisters of Mercy, with more than 20 years of experience. Keystone Mercy’s mission is to help people get care, stay well, and build healthy communities, with a special concern for the poor and disadvantaged. Its corporate parent partners are Mercy Health System and Keystone First, a subsidiary of Independence Blue Cross. For more information about Keystone Mercy Health Plan, please visit www.keystonemercy.com.
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