CYPRESS, Calif., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. has earned a place on the seventh-annual 2004 LATINA Style 50, a survey by LATINA Style Magazine of the 50 best companies for Latinas to work for in the United States.
The LATINA Style 50 is, according to the magazine, “the most respected analytical questionnaire of corporate America’s policies and practices as they pertain to professional Hispanic women.” Companies that are considered for listing on the LATINA Style 50 are evaluated for their percentage of Latina employees and Latinas in senior and executive management positions. Other criteria include the companies’ benefits packages and availability of mentoring and leadership-training programs.
PacifiCare was one of 600 U.S. corporations that were evaluated by the magazine for selection to this year’s list. The article announcing this year’s winners appears in the August 2004 issue. The magazine will host its annual awards ceremony honoring the LATINA Style 50 companies in early February 2005 during LATINA Style’s Diversity Conference in Washington, D.C.
“PacifiCare’s commitment to foster workplace diversity is an integral part of our brand pledge, ‘Caring is Good. Doing Something is Better,’” said Howard Phanstiel, PacifiCare’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We believe that a diverse work force is important in order to better reflect the communities we serve. We are honored that LATINA Style Magazine has recognized our commitment.”
The LATINA Style 50 award follows on the heels of PacifiCare being named to Hispanic magazine’s 2004 Hispanic Magazine Corporate 100, which lists companies based on their recruitment efforts, diversity training, ethnic representation of its board members and minority business initiatives.
Latinas comprise more than three-quarters of PacifiCare’s Hispanic employees, and women comprise nearly three-quarters of PacifiCare’s work force.
“These awards show that PacifiCare is a good place to work for our nearly 1,700 Latino employees and that we can make a positive difference for our Latino members who want access to quality, affordable health care,” said Russell Bennett, PacifiCare’s vice president of Latino Health Solutions. “Today, Latinos comprise more than 20 percent of our total health plan membership. We believe our diverse customers are best served by knowledgeable and experienced employees who understand their needs, and we are taking action to develop culturally sensitive and relevant consumer health services to improve the health and well-being of Latinos.”
Under the Latino Health Solutions aegis, PacifiCare initiated numerous programs to strengthen its relationships with the Latino community, including a scholarship program called Latino Health Scholars that awards scholarships for Spanish-speaking, bicultural high-school students interested in pursuing careers in the health care industry. PacifiCare’s Spanish-language Web site, PacifiCare en Espanol (http://www.pacificarelatino.com/), provides health information and education for the company’s growing number of Spanish-speaking members as well as the Latino community worldwide.
In November 2003, PacifiCare appointed Aida Alvarez to its board of directors. Alvarez was administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from 1997 to 2001, and was the first Hispanic woman, and the first person of Puerto Rican heritage, to serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet.
In April, PacifiCare appointed Ivelisse Estrada, senior vice president of Corporate and Community Relations for Univision Communications Inc., to its Women’s Health Advisory Board, which includes Patricia Alvarez de los Cobos, president and CEO of Energy Communications Corp. The Women’s Health Advisory Board, under the banner of PacifiCare’s Women’s Health Solutions, consists of women clinicians, policymakers and business leaders helping PacifiCare achieve its vision of improving the health and health care experience of women.
“Our award-winning Women’s Health Solutions offers more than 30 programs aimed at meeting women’s needs for better physical and mental health, convenience, timely information and health care savings,” said Wendy Kuran, PacifiCare’s vice president of Women’s Health Solutions. “Becoming a leader in women’s health is a cornerstone of PacifiCare’s strategy as a consumer health organization, and it starts with employees who share a belief in that strategy. We congratulate our Hispanic employees for embodying PacifiCare’s commitment to both Latinos’ and women’s health and helping us earn our listing on the LATINA Style 50.”
PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation’s largest consumer health organizations with more than 3 million health plan members and approximately 9 million specialty plan members nationwide. PacifiCare offers individuals, employers and Medicare beneficiaries a variety of consumer-driven health care and life insurance products. Currently, more than 99 percent of PacifiCare’s commercial health plan members are enrolled in plans that have received Excellent Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). PacifiCare’s specialty operations include behavioral health, dental and vision, and complete pharmacy and medical management through its wholly owned subsidiary, Prescription Solutions. More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is available at http://www.pacificare.com/.
PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.
CONTACT: Dan Miller, Media Relations, PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.,+1-714-226-3726, dan.miller@phs.com
Web site: http://www.pacificarelatino.com/
Web site: http://www.pacificare.com/
