The Blue Ribbon Foundation of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania recently approved a $6,000 grant for Pocono Services for Families and Children (PSFC) to help more than 100 at-risk families in Monroe County participate in a national health education program.

The Health Literacy Training Program, created by UCLA and Johnson & Johnson, provides preventive health education so that families can make better decisions about their health care. The goal is to decrease unnecessary clinic and hospital visits, and promote fewer work and school days missed.With Foundation funding, PSFC will conduct eight two-hour workshops covering topics such as at-home treatment of common childhood illnesses, reading prescription labels, oral health, obesity prevention, asthma, and health promotion at four Head Start Centers across Monroe County.A Blue Ribbon Foundation grant awarded in 2010 helped PSFC launch the literacy program, reaching at that time 200 families who subsequently reported 97 percent fewer clinic visits within 90 days of completing the program."We are very grateful for The Blue Ribbon Foundation's continuing support for the work that we do," said Tim Lee, executive director of PSFC. "Empowering low-income and uninsured families to make better decisions about their health and health care strengthens families as well as the communities we serve."BCNEPA established its private, nonprofit Blue Ribbon Foundation in 2002 to invest in health education and prevention initiatives that produce measurable health improvements and help manage long-term health costs for the residents of northeastern and north central Pennsylvania. During its first decade of service, The Foundation has awarded nearly $10 million in grant funding to 170 nonprofits to help meet the health and wellness needs of more than 186,000 at-risk individuals.