Cypress, CA - Thirty $2,000 scholarships are available to African-American graduating high-school seniors and college students who are pursuing careers in the health care industry.

The scholarships, funded by the United Health Foundation and PacifiCare Foundation, are offered on behalf of the African American Scholars Program.

Starting this fall, the $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to graduating high-school seniors entering community college, university or an accredited technical college and college students majoring in an approved health care program. To qualify, applicants must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or "B" average and reside and/or attend schools in California, Georgia, Maryland and Texas for the 2006-2007 school year. For more information about the African American Scholars program and to download an application, visit www.pacificare.com/aahs. The deadline for applications is July 31, 2006.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, African Americans comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population, but only about 6 percent of all matriculating students in medical schools in the country. This is a clear example of the declining interest among young African Americans in the health industry; and unfortunately, the trend of statistics like these may ultimately affect the quality and delivery of health care in the African-American community, according to Reed Tuckson, M.D., senior vice president of Consumer Health and Medical Care Advancement at UnitedHealth Group.

"Instead of simply talking about the statistics affecting our young people, we are doing something about this issue by creating new ways to support our future doctors, researchers, clinicians," said Dr. Tuckson, who is also a former president of a minority academic health university. "We have to work hard today to improve the health of our community for tomorrow, and what better way of doing that than encouraging our young people to reach their career goals and fulfill their dreams."

UnitedHealthcare is partnering with media personalities and renowned organizations including the Tom Joyner Foundation (www.tomjoyner.com), the Tavis Smiley Foundation (www.y2l.org) and HBCU.com to help provide funding for their respective scholarship programs.

This year, UnitedHealthcare launched its African American Health Solutions initiative in select states to help improve the quality of health care coverage for its members and provide education to the community about ways to reduce their risk for chronic diseases. In addition, African American Health Solutions is partnering with several Black Chambers of Commerce in designated major cities to fund their existing scholarship programs.