Cigna Foundation Gives $150,000 Grant and Cigna Donates Vehicle for Mobile Dental Care Provided by Appalachian Miles for Smiles
July 31 2017 - 12:03PM
Business Wire
- Free dental care provided in Eastern
Tennessee and Southwest Virginia
- Donation of 18-wheel trailer to allow
for creation of second mobile clinic
The Cigna Foundation today announced a $150,000 World of
Difference grant to help Appalachian Miles for Smiles of Kingsport,
Tenn. provide quality, no-cost mobile dental care to 4,000 to 4,500
underserved patients in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
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The Cigna Foundation gave a $150,000
grant to help Appalachian Miles for Smiles provide free mobile
dental care. Pictured left to right: Bruce Sites, executive
director of Friends in Need and project manager for Appalachian
Miles for Smiles; Greg Allen, president of MidSouth markets, Cigna;
Steve Kilgore, president, Friends in Need; Tenn. Rep. John
Crawford, District 1. (Photo: Business Wire)
The grant will provide funding for the next three years for
supplies, tools and medicine required to provide care to patients,
to cover the expenses of operating a mobile dental unit, and to
assist with the minimum project management and support personnel
required for this effort to be successful.
Appalachian Miles for Smiles (AMS) is a five-exam bay, fully
equipped and self-contained mobile dental unit assembled by local
volunteers that was made possible through collaboration with the
United Way of Greater Kingsport, Remote Area Medical, and local
businesses. It is operated and managed locally by Friends In Need
Health Center, Inc. (FIN) of Kingsport. Bruce Sites, executive
director of FIN, said this unit is essential in the region’s effort
to improve the dental care and overall health of the residents of
this region who have no other affordable alternative. “The entire
operation of AMS is made possible by professional and community
volunteers and through the excellent support of the Cigna
Foundation and other contributors,” he said.
“The Cigna Foundation is honored to support this project, which
will address our region’s number one unmet healthcare need: adult
dental care. Good oral health is an important factor in overall
health and productivity. Mobile care is a way of providing no-cost
dental care in remote and rural locations that generally don’t have
access to dental care and to people who generally don’t have the
personal resources to be able to afford dental care,” said Greg
Allen, president of Cigna’s Mid-South market, which includes
Tennessee.
Additionally, Cigna donated an 18-wheel trailer to enable
Appalachian Miles for Smiles to equip an additional mobile clinic
and get it on the road to further serve the area’s dental care
needs. The vehicle was formerly known as the Cigna Mobile Learning
Lab, a vehicle that Cigna used for several years on cross-country
health awareness and education tours. “We are extremely grateful
for the grant of $150,000 that will be the foundation on which AMS
can extend its reach and service, and for the additional gift of
the Cigna trailer that will facilitate delivering this care in
greater capacity and efficiency,” Sites said.
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.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170731005833/en/
CIGNA MEDIA CONTACT:Gloria Barone,
215-761-4758Gloria.barone@cigna.comorAMS MEDIA CONTACT:Devin
Cradic, 423-677-1362devincradic@finhc.org
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