HARTFORD, Conn. – Aetna today announced the winners of the 2018 Voices of Health competition celebrating local non-profit organizations working to address social determinants of health in their communities. Sixty-three non-profits in Atlanta, Columbus, Houston, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, South Florida and among four counties in California mounted a voting campaign in their respective communities to compete for a $20,000 grand prize and a $10,000 second-place prize. In total, 14 organizations have won $210,000 in grants.
The winners of the 2018 Voices of Health competition are:
Atlanta:
First Place: The Good Samaritan Health Center
Second Place: Center for Black Women’s Wellness
California:
First Place: Mar Vista Family Center – Culver City, CA
Second Place: Kid Healthy (One OC) – Santa Ana, CA
Columbus, Ohio:
First Place: Miracle League of New Albany
Second Place: Flying Horse Farms
Houston:
First Place: Asian American Health Coalition HOPE Clinic
Second Place: The Rose
Jacksonville, Florida:
First Place: St. Vincent’s Healthcare Foundation
Second Place: Second Mile Ministries
Philadelphia:
First Place: SPIN, Inc.
Second Place: Pennsylvania Care Health & Wellness
South Florida:
First Place: Branches
Second Place: Overtown Youth Center
“I’m pleased that Aetna supports local non-profits and their missions to improve health and well-being in our communities,” said Floyd Green, vice president of Aetna Community Activation. “We believe that addressing health concerns outside of the doctor’s office is crucial to overall health and well-being. This sentiment is supported by all of the finalists chosen to participate in Voices of Health.”
In total, 359,834 votes were cast between October 1 through November 9 from across the U.S. and from 69 countries around the world.
The participating organizations in this year’s Voices of Health competition all work to promote health by addressing a wide range of community issues, including childhood obesity, access to affordable prescriptions and healthcare, HIV/AIDS prevention and services and helping homeless families become more self-sufficient. In addition to the competition, the program aims to help facilitate a network for the local non-profits in each community to leverage each other’s services, allowing for more holistic access to a variety of services available to those who need them.
The sixty-three finalists in the competition were required to develop a short video explaining how their organization is making a difference where they operate locally. Each group was responsible for drumming up votes in a number of different ways, including sharing their videos through social media and other communication channels and directing voters to www.aetnavoicesofhealth.com.
“The videos created by each non-profit are incredibly powerful. Each tells an insightful story,” said Green. “It’s a great reminder of how local grassroots organizations can and do have tremendous, positive social impact.”
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 39.0 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental and behavioral health plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers’ compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna’s customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see http://www.aetna.com.
Media Contact:
Anjie Coplin
214-200-8056
coplina@aetna.com