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Aetna Sponsors C.H.A.S.E. For Life - Organization Will Promote Infant and Child CPR and The Heimlich Maneuver For New Parents and Their Children's Caretakers

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 August 2006, 15:00 CDT

Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today a $10,000 grant as the founding sponsor of C.H.A.S.E. for Life, a new organization formed to promote infant and child CPR and The Heimlich Maneuver education for first-time parents. This September, C.H.A.S.E. for Life (which stands for CPR, Heimlich, Awareness, Safety, Education) will launch a national campaign to make this life-saving information free and readily available in hospitals, schools, in-home classes and community centers.

"If parents retain only 20 percent of this training, they will have an 80 percent chance to save their child's life should the unthinkable occur," said Farley Boyle, a New Jersey mother who founded C.H.A.S.E. for Life when her two-year old daughter Chase nearly drowned in a boating accident, but was saved by her husband who was trained in infant CPR. "If it was not for the optional infant/child CPR and Heimlich class my husband and I took while I was pregnant, Chase would not be with us today."

"You don't always have to be a doctor to save a child's life," added James Reid, northeast regional manager for Aetna. "Sponsoring C.H.A.S.E. for Life aligns with Aetna's commitment to provide prevention and wellness information to our health plan members. With this sponsorship, we are able to expand the reach of this message to parents everywhere regardless of the health plan they belong to." In 2005, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation contributed over $19 million in grants and sponsorships to help build healthier communities.

C.H.A.S.E. for Life provides workshops in collaboration with local EMS squads and hosts in-home clinics to teach infant/child CPR and The Heimlich Maneuver free of cost to parents and caretakers of children ages pre-K through eighth grade. The organization is also promoting mandatory education and instruction in these techniques for first-time mothers before they leave the hospital with their newborn child. To increase interest further, C.H.A.S.E. for Life has designed a cutting-edge instructional video to modernize and update the face of CPR/Heimlich instruction. "We want to create buzz and universal appeal by providing a more modern and user-friendly approach," Farley explained.

About C.H.A.S.E. for Life

C.H.A.S.E. for Life, founded in August 2005, is a non-profit organization that stands for CPR, Heimlich, Awareness, Safety, Education. Its mission is to promote the education of infant and child CPR and The Heimlich Maneuver, and to raise safety awareness within communities throughout the country. C.H.A.S.E. for Life believes this education should be free and readily available for everyone and works in collaboration with local EMS squad volunteers to provide it. C.H.A.S.E. for Life is also promoting mandatory education and instruction in infant/child CPR and The Heimlich Maneuver for first-time mothers before being discharged from the hospital with their newborns, and is partnering with hospitals to make this a priority and working to change legislation at the local, state and national levels. www.chaseforlife.org

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 29.9 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life, long-term care and disability plans, and medical management capabilities. Our customers include employer groups, individuals,

college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans and government-sponsored plans. www.aetna.com.

Source: Business Wire

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