The CIGNA Foundation Grants $29,000 to American Indian College Fund for Native Scholarships

DENVER, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The CIGNA Foundation has granted $29,000 to the American Indian College Fund (the Fund) to support Native scholarships through the Tribal Scholars Healthcare Program. The gift will provide 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, 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, or Wisconsin are also eligible.

"We are excited to provide this grant to offer scholarships for American Indian students to pursue critical health and science educational opportunities," said Gianna Jackson, executive director of the CIGNA Foundation. "We realize there are disparities in the U.S. health care system and strive to reduce these across all populations through awareness and targeted business and charitable programs."

"Health and wellness issues disproportionately affect American Indians partly because Natives often live in rural areas and are afflicted by poverty, where communities are often underserved in healthcare. The Tribal Scholars Healthcare Program will not only help to remedy the healthcare issues afflicting our communities Indian Country, it will also help to educate and train Native healthcare professionals who can go back and serve their communities," said Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund.

About CIGNA

CIGNA (NYSE: CI) is a global health service and financial company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation's operating subsidiaries in the United States provide an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance. CIGNA offers products and services in 29 countries and jurisdictions and has more than 66 million customer relationships throughout the world. All products and services are provided exclusively by such operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA Corporation. Such operating subsidiaries include Life Insurance Company of North America, CIGNA Life Insurance Company of New York, and Connecticut General Life Insurance Company. To learn more about CIGNA, visit www.cigna.com. To sign up for email alerts or an RSS feed of company news, log on to http://newsroom.cigna.com/rss. Also, follow us on Twitter at @cigna, visit CIGNA's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/cigna and listen to CIGNA's podcast series with healthy tips and information at http://www.cigna.com/podcasts or by searching "CIGNA" in iTunes.

About the American Indian College Fund

With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education and support to the nation's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

SOURCE American Indian College Fund