Atlanta, Ga. (April 29, 2019) - Piedmont Heart Institute announced a $449,000 grant from the Cigna Foundation that will help the organization expand its innovative approach to addressing heart disease in women. The Piedmont Women’s Heart Program helps women with heart disease and those at risk of developing it access Piedmont’s exceptional, holistic cardiovascular care and connect with other women to find support and encouragement. The program launched at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital in 2017, spread to Piedmont Fayette in 2018 and will roll out additional services and programs in Fayette and Coweta counties throughout 2019 and 2020.
“Heart disease is the number one killer of women in Georgia and 90 percent of all women have at least one risk factor for heart disease,” said Jo Tapper, Executive Director, CV Strategy and Professional Services. “What’s shocking is that 80 percent of cardiac events can be prevented by lifestyle changes and education. That’s why this program is necessary and can make such a tremendous impact.”
The Women’s Heart Program focuses on prevention, clinical care, and support to reduce heart disease among women and promote long-term heart health and wellness. In order to aid prevention, the program offers personalized heart screenings to identify individual risk factors. Currently, screenings are available at Piedmont Heart Institute offices in Fayetteville and Newnan. Piedmont Heart has a team of women’s heart experts who provide the best medical care to treat acute and chronic cardiovascular disease. The Dottie Fuqua Women’s Heart Support Network provides wellness education and programming, bringing the community together to build a supportive environment for women.
“We view the body and mind as connected, and to help people improve and maintain health, it is important their health care approaches them as a whole person,” said Susan Stith, Executive Director, Cigna Foundation. “Piedmont Heart Institute delivers a holistic approach to care that provides essential services for the body and mind, and we are happy to help expand the heart program into additional communities.”
“Our education events and services are available free of charge to ensure access to good health is barrier free,” said Lauren Fyock, Program Coordinator for Women’s Heart. “With this expansion and grant support, we will go a step further, and expand our target population with an additional focus on minority and uninsured populations who may be at greater risk for heart disease. The program will collaborate with free clinics in the community with which Piedmont has relationships – Fayette C.A.R.E. Clinic and Coweta Samaritan Clinic.”
Since arriving at Piedmont Fayette last summer, the Women’s Heart Support Network has offered numerous programs including Heart-to-Heart dinners with physicians and healthcare professionals, aromatherapy and mindfulness classes, cooking demonstrations and the Women’s Heart Yoga class.
“We go deep into the communities we serve to help improve access to connected health and well-being services, and we support Piedmont Heart Institute’s efforts to help more women take steps to reduce the risk of heart disease,” said Bryan Holgerson, Cigna Market President for Georgia.
This summer, Piedmont Heart will begin to roll out additional services and additional locations including awareness activities and Support Network wellness coaching educational offerings based at Piedmont Newnan Hospital and the two clinics.
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.