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Cigna Foundation Grants $29,000 to American Indian College Fund for Scholarships

March 26, 2012

The Cigna Foundation has granted $29,000 to the American Indian College Fund (the Fund) to support Native scholarships through the Cigna Foundation Tribal Scholars Healthcare Program. The grant will provide 10 scholarships to Native students studying at select tribal colleges and universities and mainstream institutions.

Native students who are juniors or seniors studying pre-medicine or pharmaceutical, nursing, dentistry, or health technology at schools in Arizona, Colorado, South Dakota, Washington, or California are eligible to apply. In addition, tribal college students studying social and behavioral science, public health, social science, chemical dependency, medical office mid-management, medical assistant studies, pre-health information management, pre-nursing, medical transcriptionist, or nursing at tribal colleges in Arizona, Washington, South Dakota or Wisconsin are also eligible.

“Health and wellness issues disproportionately affect American Indians partly because Natives often live in rural areas afflicted by poverty, where communities are often underserved in healthcare. The Cigna Foundation Tribal Scholars Healthcare Program will continue to help to remedy the healthcare issues afflicting our communities in Indian Country by educating and training Native healthcare professionals to serve their communities,” said Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund.

“Improving the quality of the health care system includes improving access to care for the underserved and recognizing and respecting cultural influences on health,” said Christopher De Rosa, President, Western Region for Cigna. “We are very pleased that this collaboration between the Cigna Foundation and the American Indian College Fund will help train the health care professionals of the future.”

About Cigna and the Cigna Foundation
The Cigna Foundation 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. To learn more about Cigna®, including links to follow us on Facebook or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.