Aetna Awards $140,000 to St. Louis Nonprofits

Aetna (NYSE: AET) and the Aetna Foundation announced this week that they awarded $140,000 to St. Louis area nonprofits in 2008.

Many of these nonprofits focus on areas that are of specific interest to Aetna and its Foundation, such as disease prevention, obesity and health screening.

"Helping people take control of their health is one of our main goals, so you’ll find much of what we funded is directed toward that end,” said Scott Nilsen, sales manager for Aetna’s Chesterfield office.

The St. Louis area organizations that received Aetna and Aetna Foundation grants are:

• The St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation for the 25^th annual St. Louis Children’s Hospital Day at Six Flags -- This allows 3,600 special guests and sponsors to attend this exclusive event that is closed to the public: $30,000;
• YMCA of Greater St. Louis for its Kidz Fit After School Program -- This program provides nutrition, fitness/exercise, self-esteem and parent participation programming for Brown, Walker, and Walnut Grove Elementary Schools in north St. Louis County and De La Salle Middle School in St. Louis: $30,000;
• National Multiple Sclerosis Society – MS Corporate Achievers Class of 2009. The MS Corporate Achievers program honors corporate executives for their career achievements and community contributions. The ‘honorees’ raise funds for the Gateway Area Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through a letter campaign, corporate contributions or inventive fundraisers as part of the program. In return for their efforts, the MS Corporate Achiever honorees receive recognition in the St. Louis Business Journal, receive the Leadership Award, have networking opportunities with other area business leaders, and are guests of honor at an awards reception: $25,000;

• Lewis & Clark Community College for its Nurse-Managed Center for Healthcare and Education -- This is a mobile clinic that allows the center to provide dental, general health and mental health screenings to more than 90,000 residents in the counties served by Lewis & Clark: $20,000;

• Life Skills’ for its Community Registered Nurse Program -- The Community RN Program provides medical assistance to 188 individuals with developmental and other disabilities who participate in Life Skills’ programs. They live independently in their own homes or apartments in St. Louis, St. Charles and Franklin Counties: $15,000;
• Fontbonne University’s wellness program (lunch and learn series) -- Lunch and Learn sessions are offered once a month in the University’s demonstration kitchen to University faculty and staff. Each session addresses a specific health related topic, including, but not limited to diabetes, heart disease and cancer, with a focus toward the prevention and management of these conditions. An additional component of this program is an agreement to fully reimburse insurance co-payment charges for faculty and staff who obtain a complete health risk assessment from their physicians: $10,000; and
• Mental Health Association of St. Louis – "Returning Veterans and Battlemind: Transitions After Combat” -- This project will serve to train those who work with returning soldiers to better understand issues such as "getting back to normal,” "being a couple again,” "returning to work,” "coping with military stress,” and more: $10,000.

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.

The Foundation’s giving is focused on health, diversity and employee community involvement, with broader programs in our home state of Connecticut. Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed over $334 million in grants, sponsorships and social investments. In 2008, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation contributed more than $25 million nationally. Additional information about the Aetna Foundation is available at www.aetna.com/foundation.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 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 plan, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for medical plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.