Aetna To Focus On Reducing Health Care Disparities In Hartford
Aetna Gives $100,000 in Grants to Local Organizations Working to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care
HARTFORD, Conn., February 5, 2004 — Aetna (NYSE: ΑET) announced today that it has awarded $100,000 in grants to promote cultural competency education and preventive health programs aimed at reducing the disparities in health care that exist among Hartford’s diverse populations. The Hartford grants are part of a broad national initiative Aetna has mounted to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health through research, education and data collection, all leading to improved quality of health across communities.
On Thursday, February 5th, Aetna kicks off the Hartford initiative, together with the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, by hosting The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and over 60 community leaders for a day of dialogue about health disparities in Hartford and ways we can collaborate on programs to address the issue.
"By bringing together a diversity of viewpoints, we hope to learn from one another and apply our combined knowledge and energy toward creating solutions here in Hartford that will serve as national models," explained Marilda L. Gándara, president of the Aetna Foundation. "Several years ago we used a similar model to attack low childhood immunization levels in Hartford. Working collaboratively with community organizations, medical centers and local health leaders, we significantly improved the on-time immunization rate of Hartford’s children. Health care disparities are the next big issue in health care and we believe it will benefit from a similar targeted and collaborative approach," Gándara added.
The five organizations awarded Aetna grants are:
- The Greater Hartford Health Ministry Network of the Capitol Region Conference of Churches, which will use the funds to conduct an annual symposium and create a health education initiative for faith-based resource centers.
- Connecticut Oral Health Initiative, which is developing an oral health education program in Spanish to promote early and proper oral health in children.
- Hispanic Health Council, which will develop and conduct diversity training of medical students and faculty in partnership with the UConn School of Medicine.
- Child Health & Development Institute, which through its Educating Practices in Their Communities program will provide bilingual education materials and training to increase awareness among pediatricians and their office staff about the importance of pediatric oral health.
- City of Hartford Department of Health and Human Services, which will use the grant for its Hartford Multicultural Ramps Project, a program to bridge cultural health disparities by improving health care access in the community access and encouraging students to pursue health careers.
About the Aetna Foundation
The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Founded in 1972, the Foundation seeks to help build healthy communities by funding initiatives that improve the quality of life where our employees and customers work and live. Since 1980, the Aetna Foundation has contributed more than $260 million in grants, scholarships and social investments. Total Connecticut giving by Aetna in 2003 exceeded $1.5 million, excluding significant contributions to the United Way, matching grants to nonprofit institutions based in the state and volunteer activities. The Foundation’s giving is focused on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Additional Information about the Aetna Foundation is available at www.aetna.com/foundation.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, serving approximately 13.0 million medical members, 11.0 million dental members, 7.4 million pharmacy members and 12.1 million group insurance customers, as of September 30, 2003. The company has expansive nationwide networks of more than 590,000 health care services providers, including over 355,000 primary care and specialist physicians and 3,577 hospitals. For more information about Aetna, please visit the company’s web site at www.aetna.com.
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