TriWest Hits Grand Slam During Summer of Appreciation for Military Families

PHOENIX (Sept. 17, 2007) —TriWest Healthcare Alliance, a Corporate Team Member of America Supports You, did a lot more than provide peanuts and Cracker Jacks to military families at baseball games this summer.

The company’s corporate giving game plan ensured that all of the bases were covered, focusing on appreciation and support of tens of thousands of U.S. Service members and their families coping with the challenges of military service, including multiple deployments.  TriWest administers TRICARE, the military’s health care plan throughout its 21-state West Region.

"It’s critical that we honor the Service members and their families who sacrifice so much to defend our nation," said TriWest President and CEO David J. McIntyre, Jr. "I encourage the business community to remember they’re still out there fighting for us. These courageous families deserve our ongoing commitment, gratitude and support."

TriWest’s summer plays to provide military family support included:

• Deployment and Post-deployment Support :
  • An expanded version of Help From Home, a post-deployment clinical support tool for returning combat veterans and their families in the West Region to view as streaming video or to order as a free 2-DVD set at www.triwest.com.
  • Sponsorship of the National Military Family Association’s Operation Purple  which enabled 4,000 children of deployed parents to their summer camps
  • Funding for a new Fisher House at Naval Medical Center San Diego to house families of injured Service members.
  • Sponsored programs by the Military Child Education Coalition to help school counselors and administrators understand the unique challenges and fears faced by children coping with deployment.
  • For the second time this year, TriWest refueled the Army Emergency Relief Fun fund in Ft. Bliss, Texas, which is densely populated with military families.
• Morale, Recreation and Welfare:
  • Provided more than 15,000 complimentary tickets for families to attend military appreciation nights at sporting events throughout the West Region.
  • Videotaped messages from home for deployed Service members.
  • Funding for a new USO Center in Fort Carson, Colo.
• Survivor Support:
  • Contributed to Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) 
  • First-of-its-kind partnership with certified counselor and Navy widow, Joanne Steen, to offer "Grief Solutions" program to military leaders to help them provide better support for families coping with loss.

TriWest’s Corporate Giving programs are focused on organizations or initiatives supporting Service members and military families throughout TRICARE’s 21-state West Region.