Care Choices and the City of Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Department Present Free Swimming Every Tuesday Evening in July

Program aimed at promoting physical activity among children

Farmington Hills, Mich., June 21, 2002 - Care Choices HMO, the city of Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Department, and the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports, have teamed up once again to offer free swimming to children. Every Tuesday evening in July (2, 9, 16, 23, 30), children age 17 and under can swim for free at the following pools:

Buhr Park Pool 2751
Packard Road
Phone: (734) 971-3228
Family Swim* 5 - 6:30 p.m.
General Swim** 6:30 - 8 p.m.

Veterans Memorial Park Pool
2150 Jackson Road
Phone: (734) 761-7240
Family Swim* 5-6:30 p.m.
General Swim** 6:30 - 9 p.m.

* Family swim - children 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult

** General swim - children under 8 must be accompanied by some age 16 or older

Fuller Park Pool
1519 Fuller Road
Phone: (734) 994-4263
Family Swim* 5-8 p.m.
(Restricted to tot pool, water slide and diving well)

The annual free swim program is part of Care Choices Fit Kids - Healthy Future community-based program aimed at promoting physical activity among children. Since the program's inception nearly three years ago, more than 2,300 children have taken part in the free programs that help fight what is considered by some experts to be one of the greatest medical risks faced by American children today - childhood obesity, which has been linked to diabetes later in life. "We're pleased to partner with the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreations Department and the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness on a program aimed at helping our children establish healthy exercise habits," said William Alvin, President and CEO of Care Choices.

Care Choices is a nonprofit health care organization and a subsidiary of Trinity Health, one of the nation's leading providers of health care services. Since 1986, Care Choices has been providing quality health care to thousands of members throughout Michigan. Care Choices offers a broad, fully integrated network of physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals all sharing a strong commitment to improving the health status of the communities it serves by delivering effective and affordable health care. Care Choices HMO maintains the highest rating available of Excellent by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).