DETROIT, July 2008 - Three top executives from Molina Healthcare, Inc., America's first family of managed care for low-income citizens, and longtime Detroit entrepreneur and business leader Ronald E. Hall have been named recipients of the 2008 LifeLine Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Wayne State University College of Nursing.

Molina Healthcare president and chief executive officer J. Mario Molina, MD; executive vice president of research and development Martha (Molina) Bernadett, MD, and chief financial officer John C. Molina will be recognized with Mr. Hall at the Eighth Annual LifeLine Awards gala on Thursday, Sept. 25 at the Roostertail in Detroit.

Originated and headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., Molina Healthcare, Inc., today operates in eight states, including Michigan, and arranges for delivery of health care services to persons eligible for Medicaid, Medicare and other government-sponsored programs for low-income families and individuals, thus providing quality medical assistance to those most in need and least able to afford it. Molina Healthcare of Michigan, with offices in Detroit, Troy and Grand Rapids, is one of the state's fastest growing Medicaid health plans, serving over 210,000 members and employing nearly 275 Michiganians.

For three years in a row, Molina has been ranked among "America's Best Health Plans" by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and U.S. News and World Report. The LifeLine recipients' patriarch, the late Dr. C. David Molina, began the organization in 1980 out of a modest medical office that still exists today.

Hall, currently the president and chief executive officer of Bridgewater Interiors, an automotive supply company in joint venture with Johnson Controls, Inc., as well as president/CEO of Renaissance Capital Alliance and New Center Stamping, played a major role in securing minority procurement commitments from Detroit's largest health care entities. Holder of a master's degree in business administration from Wayne State University, Hall has played a key role in minority business development and policy in the state of Michigan, having transformed the Michigan Minority Business Development Council (MMBDC) into one of America's premier minority business organizations and previously served as assistant vice president of minority business development for New Detroit, Inc.

"We are proud that Molina family and Mr. Hall, all of whom can claim an outstanding list of accomplishments that are both regional and national in their scope, are allowing the college to honor them in this way," said College of Nursing Dean Barbara K. Redman. "They all have done their part to expand health care opportunities to more people, and they are very deserving."

The LifeLine Awards is the signature fundraising event of the WSU College of Nursing, having amassed nearly $179,000 for nursing student scholarships and to aid in faculty recruitment since 2001 while acknowledging extraordinary individuals for their contributions to health care. The College of Nursing Board of Visitors, a select group of health care professionals, civic leaders and business executives who serves as an advisory body to the Dean and the college, hosts the event.

WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 news anchor and health reporter Carolyn Clifford will return as mistress of ceremonies.

At the same event, Dr. Nancy King Reame, the Mary Dickey Lindsay Professor of Nursing and director of the Doctor of Nursing Science program at the Columbia University School of Nursing in New York, will receive the 2008 Wayne State University College of Nursing Alumni Association Alumna of the Year Award. Dr. Reame, who earned both her master's and PhD degrees from the CON, is a nationally respected researcher in the field of women's health.

The evening at the Roostertail will begin with a reception and silent auction at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be chimed at 7:15 p.m. Admission is $175 per person.

For more information on the LifeLine Awards, please contact Angela A. Bingham, College of Nursing director of development, at (313) 577-6967 or abingham@wayne.edu, or visit the College of Nursing Web site at www.nursing.wayne.edu.