Cigna Foundation Makes Community Health Navigation a U.S. Priority; Announces World of Difference Grant to Emory University, ...
February 09 2016 - 10:15AM
Business Wire
- Showing health equity in action
- Giving preference to programs with
community health workers
- Improving Mexican-American, Latino
health through Emory program
The Cigna Foundation is making Community Health Navigation a
priority for its World of Difference grants in the United States,
with a special emphasis on the role community health workers play
in addressing the health needs of underserved individuals.
Prioritizing Community Health Navigation is a natural extension of
the Cigna Foundation’s emphasis on health equity, and will enable
the Cigna Foundation to strengthen its support of non-profits that
help people whose health is worse than the general population’s
because of gender, race, place of residence, age or economic
status.
As a first step, the Cigna Foundation awarded a $115,468 World
of Difference grant to Emory University’s Rollins School of Public
Health for its program to improve health for Mexican-Americans and
Latinos in the Atlanta region. The Cigna Foundation funding will
support the development of outreach workers to help this
metropolitan community.
“In making a commitment to Community Health Navigation, we’re
looking at the ways in which communities support or detract from an
individual’s health – and we’re working with organizations that are
discovering unique and effective ways to help individuals through
community resources,” said David Figliuzzi, executive director of
the Cigna Foundation.
Community Health Navigation programs eligible for Cigna
Foundation World of Difference grants include those that provide
face-to-face community health workers (CHW), a health industry term
that refers to trusted advisors within a community who guide people
through the complex health care and social service systems. Other
Community Health Navigation programs may take the form of
establishing community-based health facilities, or creating online
resources where people can easily access health information they
need. Regardless of the method, the goals of Community Health
Navigation programs are the same: to improve access to primary
care, reduce emergency room use, lower total medical costs, and
improve health and wellness for those in the programs.
“Spotlighting Community Health Navigation demonstrates our
understanding that what makes a person healthy or unhealthy often
happens outside of the doctor’s office, or traditional health care
delivery. We plan to pilot programs that are multi-faceted –
collaborating with government, social services and businesses – so
we can speed help to those who need it most and create sustainable
change in our communities,” Figliuzzi said.
Emory University will use the Cigna Foundation grant to launch
the Mexican-American Participatory Assessment (MAPA) Project, which
includes a new initiative under the “Ventanilla de Salud-Atlanta
(VDSA)” program. As a joint effort between the Mexican Consulate in
Atlanta and the Rollins School of Public Health, the VDSA aims to
improve the health of Mexican-Americans and Latinos and their
families by providing preventive health education, health
screenings, and access to culturally appropriate care. The MAPA
project will pilot an innovative approach that allows the VDSA to
reach a broader audience, while also training at-risk young adults
as outreach workers and offering them entry-level employment in
health services.
“The Emory program holds great promise for improving health
among an underserved population, providing employment opportunities
to youth, and uncovering best practices we can use in building
healthy communities across the nation,” Figliuzzi said. “We’re
excited to watch this work get off the ground, and look forward to
the successes ahead.”
The Cigna Foundation’s concentration on Community Health
Navigation also is evidenced in work underway in Memphis
http://bit.ly/1Ri8C0Q and Hartford http://bit.ly/23SKxCO.
For more information on the World of Difference grant program
and Community Health Navigation, go to
www.Cigna.com/Foundation.
About the Cigna Foundation
The Cigna Foundation, founded in 1962, is a private foundation
funded by contributions from Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) and its
subsidiaries. The Cigna Foundation supports organizations sharing
its commitment to enhancing the health of individuals and families,
and the well-being of their communities, with a special focus on
those communities where Cigna employees live and work.
About Cigna
Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company
dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and
sense of security. All products and services are provided
exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna
Corporation, including Connecticut General Life Insurance Company,
Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of
North America and Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York. Such
products and services include an integrated suite of health
services, such as medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy,
vision, supplemental benefits, and other related products including
group life, accident and disability insurance. Cigna maintains
sales capability in 30 countries and jurisdictions, and has more
than 89 million customer relationships throughout the world. To
learn more about Cigna®, including links to follow us on Facebook
or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.
About Rollins School of Public Health at Emory
University
At the Rollins School of Public Health, students learn to
identify, analyze, and intervene in today's most pressing public
health issues. The school's location in Atlanta, referred to as the
"Public Health Capital of the World," also is home to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CARE; the national home
office of the American Cancer Society; The Carter Center; the
Arthritis Foundation; numerous state and regional health agencies;
and the patient care, teaching, and health-related research
programs of Emory University's Woodruff Health Sciences Center.
This setting is ideal for hands-on research, collaborations with
the world's leading public health agencies, and interdisciplinary
work with national and international organizations. The school
comprises six academic departments: behavioral sciences and health
education, biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology,
health policy and management, global health, and hosts over two
dozen interdisciplinary centers. http://www.sph.emory.edu/
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Cigna FoundationGloria
Barone, 215-761-4758Gloria.barone@cigna.com
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