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News release

Mississippi Moms Deliver Giant Thank You Card to Hattiesburg Mayor and County Council Members for their Dedication to Children’s Health

July 24, 2015

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Numerous members of MomsRising.org – an online and on-the-ground organization for moms and everyone who has a mom – gathered today at the Hattiesburg Zoo to present an enormous "thank you" card to Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree and City Council Members Kim Bradley, Deborah Delgado, Carter Carroll, Mary Dryden and Henry Naylor, in recognition of their dedication to children’s health.
 
The card, signed by more than 100 MomsRising members from around Mississippi, was presented to DuPree and the council members to recognize their efforts leading Hattiesburg’s launch of the E³ Health Initiative, which enrolls eligible children and families in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
 
“Increasing CHIP enrollment is vitally important because when children have health insurance, they enjoy better health throughout childhood, demonstrate greater academic performance, and are less reliant on emergency healthcare services,” said MomsRising CEO and Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “Nationally, we have seen the difference this program can make, with more than 8 million children currently enrolled. Since it went into effect in 1997, CHIP helped reduce the number of uninsured children by half, from 14 percent to 7 percent nationwide.”
 
According to the E3 Health Initiative, there are approximately 6,000 eligible, but uninsured children and families in Hattiesburg’s Lillie Burney, Rowan, and Hawkins Elementary school zones alone and E³ aims to cut than number in half. As of May 2015, there has been a 76.2 percent growth in Medicaid enrollment in the 39401 areas alone.
 
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MEDIA NOTE: Photos from the event are available upon request, please contact Gretchen Wright or Kim Hayes, (202) 371-1999.
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.