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Executive Alison Austin and Amadeus North America Receive Deborah Natansohn Awards for Support of Heart Disease Awareness in Women

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 12:02 CST

MIAMI, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Miami executive Alison Austin and Amadeus North America, Inc. will receive the Deborah Natansohn Awards for an individual and for a corporation in recognition of their contributions to women's health and wellness. The awards will be presented on Friday, February 15 at the Sister to Sister Foundation's heart health fair at the Radisson Hotel (Omni).

The Deborah Natansohn Award is named after the late president of Seabourn Cruise Line, one of the most influential and inspirational women in the travel industry, who tragically died of a fatal heart attack in 2006. The awards are designed to raise awareness of heart health, the number one killer of women in the United States. They will be presented by Helen Panagos, Vice President for Shore Operations for Seabourn.

Individual winner Alison Austin is the CEO of Belafonte TACOLCY Center, a 40 year-old social service agency in Liberty City that works to support families, children and schools in the inner-city. Last year, Mrs. Austin brought 25 of her staff members to Sister to Sister's National Women's Heart Day Health Fair to get screened and learn about preventing heart disease. Given their results and concern for one another, Ms. Austin hired a nutritionist to educate the staff (at her own expense). Later actions included removing vending machines, offering healthy foods at meetings and events, and hiring a personal trainer for after-work fitness programs. Ms. Austin's inspirational actions and concern exemplify the goals of the Sister to Sister Foundation.

Amadeus North America, Inc., headquartered in Miami, will receive the award in the corporate/business category for actively promoting health and wellness to its employees. For the past six years, Amadeus North America has produced an annual health fair for its Miami employees, inviting hospitals, clinics and individual practitioners to offer discounted services for gym memberships, weight control, and other health benefits.

The National Woman's Heart Day(R) Health Fair is sponsored annually by the Sister to Sister Foundation. In Miami, the high-energy event features free cardiac screenings and counseling on risk factors, plus informative programs in English, Spanish and Creole, and fitness and cooking demonstrations.

The goal of National Woman's Heart Day Health Fair is to create awareness about and identify women at risk for heart disease, which kills nearly twice as many women as all cancers combined. In Miami, more than 2800 women attended last year's fair, and close to 800 received the full battery of cardiac exams and counseling.

Last year, more than 60% of the women screened across the USA were found to have two or more risk factors for heart disease. A significant number of them had been unaware of those risks prior to the screening.

For more information about the Deborah Natansohn Awards or the Miami health fair, contact Hilda S. Mitrani at hmitrani@comcast.net.

Sister to Sister Foundation

CONTACT: Hilda S. Mitrani, +1-305-992-3475, hmitrani@comcast.net, forSister to Sister Foundation

Source: PRNewswire

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