PASADENA, Calif. - (Business Wire) Come experience Kaiser Permanente’s uplifting Rose Parade float and embrace its healthy lifestyle message throughout the new year! For the 121st Annual Tournament of Roses Parade, Kaiser Permanente’s fifth consecutive year of participation, the organization has entered a playful and entertaining float. It consists of children, all courageous fighters against life-threatening diseases, riding giant animals on a county fair-like carousel decked with wholesome fruits and vegetables. The float aims to inspire viewers to get a 2010 healthier lifestyle ticket, requiring strength and commitment, and to jump on board a ride to better total health, a central theme of Kaiser Permanente’s ongoing “Thrive” message. Leading up to the parade -- which is set to begin in Pasadena on Friday, January 1, 2010, at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) -- will be several visual and fun events. As the magical float travels down the parade route, children will smile and wave beneath huge colorful umbrellas while each of the six ornate and oversized animals they are riding -- a cat, rabbit, turkey, swan, goat, and pig -- rock back-and-forth to fun music. Cart wheels beneath the figures will rotate, and an elaborate cornucopia of fruits and vegetables will glisten at the back of the float. The spectacular scene will be overlaid by thousands of multi-colored roses, carnations, orchids, chrysanthemums, and other flowers. A total of 27,000 roses will adorn this beautiful float. (A float rendering and details sheet are available.)
The nine children riding the float are young Kaiser Permanente patients, ages 11-18, each heroically fighting through significant illnesses such as cancer, sickle cell, asthma, and diabetes.
Morgan Heflin is one. In late 2008, she felt ill and was rushed to an emergency room, where she was diagnosed with cancer. Morgan underwent grueling chemotherapy, which resulted in her losing all of her hair and eyelashes. By January 2009, the cancer was no longer detectable. While being treated, staff at the cancer clinic admired Morgan’s positive spirit and warmth and noted that “she bonded with all the children, encouraging them to keep fighting.” She formed an especially close friendship with a fellow patient named Jenna, who later died. Morgan is still struggling to cope with the loss. Morgan’s cancer forced her to leave school, but she is now enrolled in an independent learning program and is scheduled to earn a high school diploma in January of 2010. After graduation, Morgan, 18, plans to study to become a pediatric oncology nurse, inspired in large part by the outstanding and compassionate care that she received when ill. Today, the Los Angeles resident volunteers at the cancer clinic that treated her and also volunteers to raise funds for nonprofit organizations dedicated to cancer research.
All of the young float riders have their own inspiring and magnificent stories of health. In recommending this diverse group of incredible kids, their physicians described them as “inspirational” and “fighters,” and they praised their “determination” and “willingness to do whatever it took” to achieve better health. (A sheet is available that provides brief profiles on these young float riders, who live in communities that include Corona, Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles [Athens, Glassell Park, Mid-City areas], San Diego, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, and Whittier.)
If these young riders have the strength and commitment to fight for good health, so can you!
“The ticket to a healthier life is within the reach of all of us,” says Benjamin K. Chu, MD, president of Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “But a successful ride takes willpower, directed energy, and consistency. We can do it and thrive! In 2010, let us take a joint and collective ride to total health.”
Start 2010 right. Make a new year resolution to improve your health. If you are like most people, you will probably choose “losing weight,” which ranks #1 in most surveys. To eat better, exercise more, and stop smoking are other resolutions typically in the top 10.
Kaiser Permanente physicians are available to be interviewed on how individuals can develop realistic plans to keep their resolutions. They can also provide live on-camera healthy cooking demonstrations through the use of our portable cooking cart. Individuals who want to lose weight can contact a Kaiser Permanente facility near them for information on its weight management programs – open to Kaiser Permanente members and non-members -- which have classes starting in early 2010.
Also, why not drop by and get a sneak peak at the Kaiser Permanente float as it is being decorated in the days just prior to New Year’s Day?
From Sunday, December 27th, through Tuesday, December 29th, over 400 Kaiser Permanente employees are scheduled to decorate the float during the daily hours of 8 a.m. through 11 p.m. at Fiesta Parade Floats, located at 16016 Avenida Padilla, in Irwindale. On these decorating days, employees will volunteer their time to add the finishing touches, such as gluing thousands of fresh roses to the float. Volunteers -- including physicians and young float riders -- will be available for media interviews.
The Kaiser Permanente float was designed by Raul R. Rodriguez, who has won more awards than any other designer in the history of the Rose Parade, and by builder Fiesta Parade Floats. This is the fifth straight year that Kaiser Permanente has used this team. Kaiser Permanente’s floats have won notable Rose Parade trophies in each of its four previous years of participation. In the last parade, 2009, it was honored with the Tournament Special Trophy for exceptional merit in multiple classifications. In 2008 and 2006, Kaiser Permanente earned the Director’s Trophy for artistic merit in design and floral presentation; in 2007, it won the President’s Trophy for most effective floral use and presentation.
The Rose Parade will feature floral floats, equestrian units, and marching bands from throughout the nation. Each year, approximately 40 million Americans across the nation watch the parade on television, as well as many millions of additional viewers in over 200 international territories and countries around the world. The parade is broadcast live on KTLA, ABC, NBC, Univision, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, Travel Channel, and RFD-TV. In addition, an estimated one million people line the parade route in Pasadena each New Year’s Day to watch the event in person.
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 3.3 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
Kaiser Permanente
Southern California Region
Calvin Naito
Office: 626-405-5788
Mobile: 323-983-3197
