The AMERIGROUP Foundation Honors the University of Maryland Hospital for Children's Br...( BALTIMORE July 31 2008 /- The AME...),Health

BALTIMORE, July 31, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- The AMERIGROUP Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AMERIGROUP Corporation, honored the University of Maryland Hospital for Children's (UMHC) Breathmobile at a ceremony today at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

AMERIGROUP Maryland Chief Operating Officer Vince Ancona presented a contribution in the amount of $4,500 on behalf of the AMERIGROUP Foundation. The UMHC Breathmobile is a custom-built pediatric asthma and allergy clinic that travels to Baltimore City schools, providing ongoing asthma and allergy care to children.

Asthma is the leading cause for children to be absent from school and the number one reason children are brought to hospital emergency rooms. Since clinical services began in March 2002, the UMHC Breathmobile team has provided more than 4,000 asthma evaluations and treated over 2,000 children. By focusing on improving the health of the children involved in the program, important goals are realized, including significant decreases in the number of lost school days, increased use of preventive asthma medications and a decreased number of emergency visits for asthma.

The support from the AMERIGROUP Foundation will allow the Breathmobile to continue its visits to Baltimore City schools to administer medical care for the management of childhood asthma. This specialized healthcare helps to keep inner city children well, out of emergency rooms and in school, learning.

"The Breathmobile Program will be able to help countless children with asthma and allergies this upcoming school year, thanks to our many funders; our most recent being the AMERIGROUP Foundation," said Dr. Mary Beth Bollinger, Breathmobile Medical Director, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Interim Chief of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology/Allergy. "We are grateful for their support of this vital program for underserved children in Baltimore and surrounding communities."

"We are very pleased
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