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Aetna Foundation Awards Grants Totaling $285,000 to Six Florida Organizations

Posted on: Tuesday, 5 December 2006, 09:01 CST

Aetna (NYSE: AET) and the Aetna Foundation announced that they have awarded grants totaling $285,000 to six organizations located in Florida.

The amounts and recipients of the grants are:

$50,000 to the Miami Beach Community Health Center;

$50,000 to MicheLee Puppets of Orlando;

$50,000 to Haven Hospice of North Central Florida;

$49,000 to the Duval County Health Department;

$48,000 to the Healthy Mothers-Health Babies Coalition of Broward County;

$38,000 to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation.

"Aetna is happy to support organizations in Florida that are working to combat serious health issues across the state," said Steve Wohlwend, head of strategic marketing for Aetna's Southeast Region. "We share their commitment to improving the health and quality of life for Florida residents, particularly those who may have difficulty obtaining information and access to the health care system."

Aetna awarded a $50,000 grant to support a childhood obesity prevention project at the Miami Beach Community Health Center. The program offers prevention education, including nutritional counseling, for 1,000 children at the center who have been identified as obese or at risk of becoming obese.

MicheLee Puppets received a $50,000 grant to support its "eXtreme Health Challenge," a live performance featuring puppet characters who target childhood obesity by delivering information about nutrition an physical activity to Orlando-area children in grades 3 through 5.

Aetna awarded a $50,000 grant to Haven Hospice of North Central Florida to support a project targeting health care disparities in end-of-life care. Haven Hospice will conduct a panel discussion via television, radio and the Internet, reaching out to people in the Jacksonville area. Focus groups are planned in the African-American and Hispanic communities to help Haven Hospice prepare culturally sensitive educations materials for caregivers and patients.

The Duval County Health Department received a $49,000 grant to help support its "Grow a Healthy Smile" campaign, which aims to improve the oral health of high-risk children in the area. The project hopes to reduce the number of low-income families who use the emergency room as a dental clinic for their children.

Aetna awarded a $48,000 grant to support the Healthy Mothers-Health Babies Coalition of Broward County. The grant helps to fund a nurturing program that will provide outreach, education, public awareness and direct service to address the critical issue of prenatal and post-partum depression among mothers in the Ft. Lauderdale area. The program will target 2,000 culturally diverse pregnant women and teens, and those of child-bearing age.

The Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation received a $38,000 grant to support its community FAN (Fitness and Nutrition) club, which aims to address the growing problem of obesity among African-American and Caribbean island children between the ages of 6 and 13.

The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Founded in 1972, the Foundation helps build healthy communities by promoting volunteerism, forming partnerships and funding initiatives that improve the quality of life where our employees and customers live and work.

Since inception of this program in 2001, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have awarded more than $11 million to address critical health issues in communities across the country. The 2006 program focuses on supporting philanthropic initiatives that target depression, childhood health (oral health and obesity, including diabetes) and end-of-life care. Special consideration is given to programs that serve racially and ethnically diverse populations and that enhance access to quality health information and health care.

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 29.8 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 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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