UnitedHealthcare, Preferred Care and Medica announce 2012 Dedicación Latina Winner.

Igor Alonso, Regional Sales Dir., South Florida with Magnolia Gutierrez,  Ricardo Cabello, Market Director Miami  and Ana Maria Canseco

UnitedHealthcare, Preferred Care Partners and Medica HealthCare Plans announced that Miami resident Magnolia Gutierrez is the winner of the 2012 Dedicación Latina award. Leaders from the companies honored Gutierrez at a luncheon ceremony on October 11 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa.

Dedicación Latina is an annual campaign that honors older adults who contribute to the health and well-being of Miami’s Hispanic community. UnitedHealthcare created the campaign in 2011 because of the important role of the community in helping Miami-area seniors live happy, healthy lives.

 Miami residents selected Gutierrez as the Dedicación Latina winner by casting their votes at community events beginning in September and on the campaign’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/MedicareExplicado).

 Ana Maria Canseco, former co-host of Univision’s national morning show Despierta América, served as Master of Ceremonies at today’s event where she announced Gutierrez as the winner and highlighted her service to the Miami community. The other finalists, chosen from more than 30 nominees, were also recognized. Tony Perez and Andre Dawson, Major League Baseball Hall of Famers and special assistants to Miami Marlins President David Samson, were in attendance for the festivities.

 “Magnolia Gutierrez and our other finalists are just a few of the many local seniors who work tirelessly to support their friends and neighbors. It’s their commitment to serving their community that inspired us to create Dedicación Latina,” said Lissette Garcia, executive director of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement in South Florida. “We applaud these extraordinary community members who represent the spirit of the Dedicación Latina campaign, and thank them for their role in making Miami a place for seniors to call home.”

 A Cuba native, Gutierrez has always had a passion for teaching and has focused her efforts in recent years on adult education. After relocating to New York in the 1960s, she spent more than 20 years supervising the language and bilingual department at a local school. Later, she moved to Miami where she teaches English and adult education at Miami Senior High School, as well as volunteers at the West Dade Adult Day Care Center where she teaches two classes each week in grammar, math, reading and language.

 The other Dedicación Latina finalists honored at the luncheon were Belen Tejeiro, a volunteer with Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders (SHINE), and Ozzie Ramon, who volunteers at Miami Beach’s North Shore Park & Youth Center.

 UnitedHealthcare serves more than 2.8 million people in Florida, including 310,000 Medicare Advantage members, through a care provider network that includes 245 hospitals and more than 28,700 physicians.

 Earlier this year UnitedHealthcare added the Medicare Advantage plans of Preferred Care and Medica to its family of Medicare health plans in Florida. Preferred Care and Medica, with operations primarily in South and Central Florida, add strong local presence and community focus to UnitedHealthcare’s national health care expertise and resources.

UnitedHealth Group employs more than 4,100 Floridians and has invested significant resources in communities throughout the state. UnitedHealthcare supports Step Up For Students, a nonprofit that administers the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for low-income students. United Health Foundation’s Diverse Scholars Initiative promotes future professional involvement in the health industry among students from multicultural backgrounds.

 UnitedHealthcare’s robust portfolio in Florida includes employer-sponsored health plans, individual plans, Medicare Advantage plans, Part D prescription drug plans, Medicare supplement plans, Medicaid managed care plans, and programs designed for chronic disease management and care coordination.

 To learn more about Dedicación Latina, visit Facebook.com/MedicareExplicado.

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