Coalition Builds New Playground in One Day for Spartanburg’s Southside Community

First Choice Fit® playground encourages families to stay fit and healthy

SPARTANBURG, SC – Select Health of South Carolina and AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership today led more than 75 volunteers as they built a new First Choice Fit® playground adjacent to the C.C. Woodson Community Center located at 201 Bomar Ave in Spartanburg’s Southside community. It is the 15th playground that AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership has built since 2011 as part of its Safe Playground program, and the third in this state. Select Health offers the First Choice Medicaid health plan to South Carolina residents and is part of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies.

The new 2,600-square-foot playground was completed in one day. Construction started at 8:30 a.m. and finished this afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and musical performance by local children. While the playground build only took one day, the project involved a great deal of planning by a grass-roots coalition that included the City of Spartanburg, the Marcus Lattimore Foundation and other supporters. Playground sponsors include Grand Ideas of Charleston, the Spartanburg Community Foundation and Massey Enterprises, Inc. of Greenville.

“It’s so uplifting to see big smiles and happy hearts as the children enjoy their new playground for the first time,” said Cindy Helling, executive director of Select Health. “It’s our pleasure to bring fun and fitness to this community, and we couldn’t have done it without our coalition partners and sponsors who helped make this possible.”

The City of Spartanburg provided the land, added new shade trees along with other custom landscaping and installed sidewalks to make the playground accessible from the Community Center. They will also install permanent perimeter fencing and a parking area, as well as provide ongoing maintenance of the grounds and equipment.

“This playground completes our vision for the C.C. Woodson Community Center,” said Junie White, mayor of the City of Spartanburg. “Today marks another milestone in the continued revitalization of the Southside, and we’re very grateful that Select Health and the AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership chose to invest in this community.”

Designed for ages 5 to 12, the playground’s main structure includes slides, monkey bars and a climbing wall. Neighborhood children selected the playground’s green and orange color scheme and spring rides. The handicapped-accessible playground structure has the approval of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Society of Testing Materials. Volunteers spread 38 tons of mulch as a soft base to help prevent injuries.

An important part of the Marcus Lattimore Foundation’s mission is to keep children active and provide opportunities for sports and play. They were integral in the selection of the C.C. Woodson Community Center as the site of this new playground build.

“One of the missions of the Marcus Lattimore Foundation is working to keep children active and healthy,” said Vernon Smith, president of the Marcus Lattimore Foundation. “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Select Health on this project. Our community is very lucky to have this new amenity in our own backyard as it will serve as a place for families to congregate while giving children the opportunity to be active and play.”

Founded in 2011 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership works to address health disparities through community health initiatives promoting health, wellness and overall quality of life. AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership, in collaboration with local coalitions, identifies communities where high percentages of children are living at or below the poverty level and are lacking safe play areas. Then, in conjunction with community partners and sponsors, they build a playground in one day.

“By providing safe spaces to play, we can help prevent injuries while also encouraging children and their families to stay physically fit and socially connected,” said Maria Pajil Battle, president of AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership. “Our experience has shown that a playground is a fantastic way to keep kids and the community healthy.”

This was AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership’s third playground build in S.C. In 2012, AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership and Select Health led a successful effort to build a playground, fitness area and refurbished recreational facilities including a basketball court at Pinehurst Park in Columbia. In 2013, AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership and Select Health led a community effort to build a playground adjacent to the Chicora Place Community Garden in North Charleston.

First Choice by Select Health of South Carolina also presented a health fair from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. inside the C.C. Woodson Community Center, where the public received free health screenings and information from local health care providers.

For more information about Select Health, visit www.selecthealthofsc.com. To learn more about the AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership, visit www.amerihealthcaritaspartnership.org. Explore the City of Spartanburg at www.cityofspartanburg.org. The Marcus Lattimore Foundation has a new website at www.marcuslattimorefoundation.com. Support The Spartanburg Community Foundation at http://spcf.org. Grand Ideas offers a wide array of promotional items at www.grandideas.net.

Select Health of South Carolina Mission:
To help people get care, stay well and build healthy communities.

About Select Health
Incorporated in 1995, Select Health was licensed as a Health Maintenance Organization by the South Carolina Department of Insurance in 1996. Later that year, the company contracted with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to offer First Choice, which is now the state’s oldest and largest health plan for Healthy Connections, South Carolina’s Medicaid program. First Choice serves members in all 46 counties statewide.

Select Health is dedicated to providing access to high quality health care. First Choice by Select Health of South Carolina is the highest nationally ranked health plan for South Carolina Healthy Connections at #61 on the National Committee of Quality Assurance’s (NCQA’s) Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2013-2014. (Note: The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) uses other criteria for evaluating and ranking the performance of health plans serving Medicaid beneficiaries. To view these results, please visit www.scdhhs.gov/reports-statistics). Select Health also holds NCQA’s Multicultural Health Care Distinction.

Select Health is a wholly-owned member of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies.