Every seven minutes, a child is bullied. One out of every 10 students drops out of school because of repeated bullying. More than 3.2 million students across America have been impacted by bullying. So how do we reverse this dangerous trend? Sunflower Health Plan, Centene Corporation and Cenpatico are taking action.

On Thursday, September 18, Centene Corporation and Sunflower Health Plan will host an anti-bullying event for 200 students at Spring Valley Elementary School in Junction City. Sunflower Health Plan and Cenpatico are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Centene Corporation.

This event is part of Centene, Cenpatico and Children's National Health System's national initiative to prevent bullying among school-aged children. The "No Bullying Zone" event will feature award-winning children's author Michelle Bain, reading a new anti-bullying book called Splotch the Madpole Does a Whole Lot of Bullying. The event will also feature Miss Johnson County , Meagan Johnson, who is traveling around Kansas discussing her experiences with bullying, as well as an anti-bullying "graffiti wall" where children will write positive messages about themselves and their friends.

This national initiative was launched during National Anti-bullying Awareness Month in October 2013 and aims to educate students, teachers and parents on how to prevent, identify and appropriately intervene when bullying threatens school-aged children.

About Sunflower Health Plan
Sunflower Health Plan, a subsidiary of Centene, is a managed care organization established to deliver quality healthcare in the state of Kansas through local, regional and community-based resources. Sunflower is committed to improving the health of its beneficiaries through focused, compassionate and coordinated care in an approach based on the core belief that quality healthcare is best delivered locally.

About Centene Corporation
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading multi-line healthcare enterprise that provides programs and related services to the rising number of under-insured and uninsured individuals. Many receive benefits provided under Medicaid, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD), Foster Care and Long-term Care (LTC), in addition to other state-sponsored/hybrid programs, and Medicare (Special Needs Plans). The Company operates local health plans and offers a range of health insurance solutions. It also contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide specialty services including behavioral health, care management software, correctional systems healthcare, in-home health services, life and health management, managed vision, pharmacy benefits management, specialty pharmacy and telehealth services.

About Cenpatico
Cenpatico's expertise lies in managing benefits for vulnerable populations. Our healthcare specialties include behavioral health, foster care, school-based services, specialty therapy and rehabilitation, community reentry and more. We have managed Medicaid and other public sector benefits since 1994; currently, we serve more than 2.5 million members nationally. Our headquarters are in Austin, Texas and we have local teams across the country in the markets we serve. Cenpatico is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation. We are committed to innovative solutions and designing programs tailored to improving functional outcomes with our members.

/PRNewswire/ -- Sept. 16, 2014/

SOURCE Centene Corporation