News

American Specialty Health Awards Scholarships to Chiropractic Students

SAN DIEGO (August 10 , 2004) – American Specialty Health (ASH), the nation's leading complementary health care benefits organization, announced the winners of its 2004 scholarship awards for students pursuing careers in chiropractic.

The scholarship winners are Dennis Tso and Danielle Custode, both from Palmer College of Chiropractic West in San Jose, Calif., and Alyssa Guglielmo, a student from New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls, N.Y. Each will receive $5,000, which will be applied toward further studies in chiropractic.

Criteria for the scholarships include grade point average, financial need, and participation in various professional activities. Each applicant was also required to submit a written essay on their studies in complementary health care. Tso, Custode, and Guglielmo all submitted essays based on the role complementary health care plays as a solution to the current health care crisis.

"We’re pleased to recognize academic excellence and enthusiasm toward the ever-growing field of complementary medicine," said George DeVries, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of ASH. "These three students are to be congratulated for their outstanding scholarship entries."

Each year, students pursuing careers in various aspects of complementary health care may apply for scholarships totaling $41,000 through the ASH scholarship program. Qualifying students are those studying chiropractic, dietetics, naturopathy, massage therapy or acupuncture at any accredited institution in the country. In 2003, ASH awarded five scholarships in each of these five areas. For information about ASH scholarships and future deadlines for students, please visit www.ashproviders.com.

American Specialty Health, Incorporated and its subsidiaries are the nation's leading specialty benefits organization for complementary health care–providing benefit, health education, and affinity network programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds nationwide. Its subsidiary American Specialty Health Plans of California, Inc., which operates in California, is the nation's first and largest specialty health plan for chiropractic and acupuncture. Based in San Diego, ASH has more than 500 employees and more than 9 million members in benefit programs nationwide. For more information about ASH, visit their Web site at www.ashcompanies.com.