Tag Archives: Aetna Foundation

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Aetna Foundation Gives Grant to Support Free "Dancing for Health" Classes at Anaheim Ballet

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Aetna Foundation Gives Grant to Support Free “Dancing for Health” Classes at Anaheim Ballet


­­ Community program reaches out to Latino teens ­­

ANAHEIM, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Thanks to a grant from the Aetna Foundation, young people in Anaheim can dance their way to better health with free classes from Anaheim Ballet.

Today, Aetna Foundation representatives presented a $15,000 check to Anaheim Ballet that will let the school offer its daily STEP-UP! dance classes at no charge to young people in Anaheim. Mayor Tom Tait attended the ceremony celebrating the program’s success.

“STEP-UP! is much more than an exercise class,” said Evan Rosenberg, director of Anaheim Ballet. “STEP-UP! is a wellness program that can improve our students’ lives in so many ways. By the end of the semester, our students stand taller, eat better, have a more positive body image and improved self-confidence. We are grateful to the Aetna Foundation for helping us offer STEP-UP! to young people in our community who otherwise would not be able to take part.”

Known for its rigorous classes in traditional ballet and modern dance, Anaheim Ballet has offered the STEP-UP! program for more than 15 years. The goal is to use the joy of dance to help young people be more physically active and live healthier lives.

This year, about 150 kids, ages 8 to 20, are enrolled. The daily, 45-minute classes teach ballet and hip-hop, dance steps that incorporate aerobics, stretching, and strengthening. A nutrition expert offers tips on healthy eating and lifestyle habits.

Rosenberg noted that the majority of students in the program are from Anaheim’s large Latino community, a population that is at higher risk of obesity and related health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

“We have seen dance be a powerful motivator for people of all fitness levels to be more physically active, eat better and take care of their health,” said Sharon Dalton, vice president of the Aetna Foundation and director of regional grant making. “Our goal at the Aetna Foundation is to promote health and wellness, particularly in underserved communities where access to healthy food, safe streets and quality health care may be limited.”

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/aetna-foundation-gives-grant-to-support-free-danci/

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Aetna Foundation Awards $75,000 Grant to FoodCorps

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Aetna Foundation Awards $75,000 Grant to FoodCorps


Funding supports nutrition program for American Indian children in Arizona

HARTFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Continuing its efforts to promote health and wellness, the Aetna Foundation has awarded a $75,000 grant to FoodCorps. The funding aims to help transform eating habits of children from low-income communities by promoting nutrition, teaching gardening and expanding healthful school food choices.

To pursue its work, FoodCorps recruits emerging leaders for a year of full-time public service dedicated to improving child health in limited-resource communities. Working with partner organizations in K-12 public schools, these AmeriCorps service members use a three-ingredient recipe for healthy kids: teaching children what healthy food is and where it comes from, helping them grow fresh food in school gardens, and working with farmers, chefs and others to transform school meals.

The Aetna Foundation grant will support team members leading FoodCorps’ activities in Arizona among children in the Navajo, White Mountain Apache, and Tohono O’odham reservation communities. Here, childhood overweight and obesity rates approach 50%, and children as young as six have been diagnosed with Type II diabetes.

“We are pleased to support FoodCorps, and applaud their inspiring and productive approach to improving nutrition and reducing diet-related health problems in Arizona’s American Indian communities,” said Gillian Barclay, vice president of the Aetna Foundation and director of national grant making. “By combining nutrition education with hands-on activities, FoodCorps is giving children the knowledge and tools to acquire or grow healthful foods and to effectively incorporate these foods into their diets at home and at school.”

Beyond the quantitative measures of FoodCorps’ impact, the organization’s Arizona team reports children running to snatch up veggie snacks after they have spent a lesson learning how vegetables are grown. Service members also cite the success of Family Feast nights and community workshops. At these events, parents talk about the quality of school food and ways to increase their communities’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

“America’s obesity problem does not affect all parts of our country equally. In addition to geographic, demographic and environmental factors, ethnicity also plays a major role, such as in Arizona, where American Indian children suffer obesity at three times the rate of non-Hispanic Whites,” said Curt Ellis, executive director of FoodCorps. “We are grateful for the Aetna Foundation‘s support in advancing …read more
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Aetna Foundation Grant Supports Women's Community Clinic's Work to Reduce Health Disparities in San

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Aetna Foundation Grant Supports Women’s Community Clinic’s Work to Reduce Health Disparities in San Francisco


— Funding Will Expand Outreach to African-American Women and Girls in Western Addition Neighborhood —

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– As part of its ongoing efforts to promote health care equity, the Aetna Foundation has awarded a $25,000, one-year grant to the Women’s Community Clinic in San Francisco. The funding will help the clinic provide health education and outreach, prenatal care, and health career training opportunities to low-income African-American women and girls in the Bay Area.

Specifically, the Aetna Foundation funding will fuel programs at the clinic’s Western Addition Health Training Program (WAHT), which serves uninsured and underinsured residents in San Francisco‘s Western Addition neighborhood. Through the grant, the organization will expand access to prenatal care on-site through its partnership with University of California, San Francisco.

The grant also provides Western Addition residents with vital workforce and development training opportunities by supporting five paid health career training fellowships and internships. Fellows and interns will get hands-on health career training in medical office operations, health education, lab packaging and tracking, pregnancy and HIV counseling, and clinic management.

“The Women’s Community Clinic is working to improve the health of African-American women and increase access to quality prenatal care. The nonprofit also strives to expand diversity in the health care profession,” said Sharon Dalton, vice president of the Aetna Foundation and director of regional grant making. “The clinic is meeting two urgent needs at the same time and creating the foundation for long-term improvements in health care equity.”

In the Western Addition community, teen pregnancy rates are higher than city averages. Residents often have limited access to health care resources and information. Overall in San Francisco, African Americans have the highest teen birth rate of any minority group.

“We are honored to work with the Aetna Foundation to reduce health care disparities, starting in our own community,” said Women’s Community Clinic Executive Director Carlina Hansen. “With this grant, we will be able to provide essential prenatal care, health workshops and hands-on workforce training in the Western Addition. We are incredibly grateful and proud to be able to effect change in this rich and diverse city neighborhood.”

About the Aetna Foundation
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Aetna Foundation Awards $25,000 Grant to Triskeles for Fresh Vegetable Program

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Aetna Foundation Awards $25,000 Grant to Triskeles for Fresh Vegetable Program

— Funds Will Expand Community Gardens, Provide Fresh Produce for Food Pantries in Greater Philadelphia–

EXTON, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Low-income residents of Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties can expect a greater supply of locally grown fresh vegetables this year. Thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Aetna Foundation, Triskeles, Inc. will more than double the number of community garden beds whose harvests are donated to local food pantries.

This month, Triskeles and several hundred volunteers will build 95 raised garden beds in the greater Philadelphia area. The new vegetable gardens, along with 70 beds built last year, are expected to yield upwards of 10,000 pounds of lettuce, tomatoes, squash and other vegetables.

“Too many people in our community are going hungry or are forced to rely on inexpensive, but non-nutritious food,” said Clemens Pietzner, executive director of Triskeles. “In Chester County alone, the demand for food assistance skyrocketed by 50 percent this year. Our community gardening program can help people have access to the fresh produce they need to eat a healthy diet. We are grateful for the Aetna Foundation‘s support.”

Sharon Dalton, vice president of the Aetna Foundation and director of its regional grant making program, said, “We know that a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables can help ward off diabetes, heart disease and other chronic ailments. Yet, the people who are most at risk in our communities often have a hard time affording the kinds of foods that can benefit their health. Community gardens are a great way to make healthy food more accessible.”

To sustain the gardens, Triskeles partners with local community groups, schools, corporations and faith-based organizations. The groups help build the raised beds, which are often located on their property, and recruit volunteers to sow, water and harvest the vegetables throughout three growing seasons. Triskeles provides seeds, plants and the gardening know-how to grow bountiful harvests. The community partners commit to donating at least half of their crops to designated food pantries.

“The beauty of our program is that it is self-sustaining,” said Pietzner. “We provide the basic infrastructure and training to start the gardens, and our community partners take the ball and run with it. There really is no limit to how many people can get involved with growing their own healthy food and sharing it with their neighbors who are in need.”

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Aetna Foundation Awards $325,000 in Grants to Train Doctors for 21st-Century Health Care

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Aetna Foundation Awards $325,000 in Grants to Train Doctors for 21 st -Century Health Care


— Funding for Institute of Medicine to help improve residency programs; launch “hotspotting” fellowships from Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers —

HARTFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– As part of its work to improve health care in the United States, the Aetna Foundation has awarded two grants totaling $325,000 to help doctors adapt to a rapidly changing health care system and growing health care needs.

The funding focuses on training young doctors for the post-reform health care landscape, which aims to improve the patient experience and population health and to lower health care costs.

“Doctors need to be part of the solution to meet the health care needs of different populations and rising rates of complex, chronic diseases,” said Gillian Barclay, D.D.S., Dr.PH., vice president of the Aetna Foundation‘s national grant making. “That means we need bold new approaches to doctors’ training to create a modern, high-performing health care system that can provide high-quality care for everyone in the U.S.”

The Aetna Foundation has contributed $150,000 to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IOM) to support its study of today’s medical residency programs, or the graduate medical education system (GME).

The IOM study is looking at the governance and financing of GME in the U.S. The final report will recommend changes to medical residency programs to better prepare young doctors for 21st-century health care systems, which all increasingly focus on patient-centered primary care, team medicine and health information technology. The study also is looking at ways to encourage more doctors to specialize in primary care to meet the demands of an aging and ever more diverse U.S. population.

To conduct the study, IOM has appointed a 21-member committee with expertise in health care systems, health economics, health professions education, and financing and accreditation. The committee’s final report is expected in early 2014.

The Aetna Foundation also has awarded $175,000 to the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers in New Jersey to establish a new fellowship program to train primary care doctors in “hotspotting,” a technique borrowed from advancements in city policing.

In medicine, hotspotting analyzes hospital readmissions, emergency room visits and other data to identify patients who use health care resources at abnormally high rates. The …read more
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