There is great news to share for the children of Northeast Florida. Yesterday, Wolfson Children’s Hospital established THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health, made possible by a leading gift of $1 million from THE PLAYERS Championship and donations from the tournament’s volunteer leadership, the Red Coats. The announcement of the new center was made at Wolfson Children’s Hospital by Baptist Health President and CEO Hugh Greene, Wolfson Hospital President Michael D. Aubin, THE PLAYERS Executive Director Matt Rapp, THE PLAYERS 2011 Tournament Chairman Jim Fuller and PGA TOUR player and local resident Jim Furyk and his wife, Tabitha Furyk.

Key focus areas of the center include:

• Community Education focusing on childhood obesity prevention, proper nutrition, physical fitness, and patient/caregiver skill development
• Prevention focusing on unintentional injury prevention
• Access to healthcare coverage for children
• Wellness focusing on asthma management, immunizations and well child services, and evaluation of community child health programming through the development and monitoring of a regional Children’s Health Status Report Card

“We are so excited to establish THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health so that Wolfson Children’s Hospital can offer not only diagnostic, therapeutic and acute health care, but actually reach beyond our walls and into our region to enhance the quality of life and well-being of children and their families,” says Wolfson Children’s Hospital President Michael D. Aubin. “We are so grateful to THE PLAYERS for its generous support of this Center. The PGA TOUR and THE PLAYERS have supported Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Baptist Health for years, and this gift only further enhances their impact on North Florida and South Georgia’s families.”

Children’s health and injury prevention programs already underway include Safe Kids Northeast Florida, a childhood injury prevention program; the Community Asthma Program, which provides child and parent education on the disease and seeks to prevent asthma-related illness and death in our community; and the Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program, which provides parent and coach education, preventative services and on-field medical coverage for student-athletes in Duval County. These programs will be expanded, along with health and safety education aimed at parents-to-be, childcare providers and children of all ages – from preschool and school-age to adolescence.

“As we gathered on the back lawn at the clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass earlier this year and vowed to raise more than $50 million for local youth related charities, this is just the type of partnership that we had in mind, and what better time to make this announcement than during THE PLAYERS Giving Back Month,” said Fuller. “Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Baptist Health are leaders in our community on many fronts. To lead the way for THE PLAYERS Center for Child Heath is a privilege and we embrace the ability to show our thanks in giving back to a community that supports our tournament.”

To learn more about THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health, visit www.pgatour.com/theplayers or www.wolfsonchildrens.org. This is great news for our community and Jacksonville’s youth!