ADDING MULTIMEDIA AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation Awards $381,208 in Grants to Two Mississippi Organizations Working to Improve Heart Health

From left to right: Representatives from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, Manna Ministries Inc., and the Dr. Arenia C. Mallory Community Health Center, Inc. at a ceremony today for the presentation of grants totaling $381,208 to the two organizations from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation. The event took place at Manna Ministries Inc. in Picayune, Miss. The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation has announced grants totaling nearly $3.7 million to 19 U.S.-based nonprofit organizations across the country dedicated to improving cardiovascular health in local communities. (Photo: Business Wire)

WILMINGTON, Del.--()--The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation’s Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM program today announced grants to two nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving cardiovascular health in Mississippi, totaling $381,208.

The organizations receiving the grants are the Dr. Arenia C. Mallory Community Health Center, Inc. in Lexington, Miss. and Manna Ministries Inc. in Picayune, Miss. Over the last three years, these organizations have received $821,888 in grants.

Heart disease accounts for 26 percent of all deaths in Mississippi.1 The poorest state in the nation based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Mississippi also has the highest death rate from cardiovascular disease in the country, according to the American Heart Association.2

The Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM program annually awards grants of $150,000 or more to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving cardiovascular health in communities across the United States. This year, the program awarded nearly $3.7 million in grants to 19 organizations. More than $14 million in grants have been awarded through the program since its inception in 2010.

“Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, and organizations like these two in Mississippi are creating innovative programs to help prevent and decrease the associated risks with this devastating disease,” said James W. Blasetto, M.D., MPH, FACC, chairman of the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation. “We are grateful for their commitment to improving heart health in their communities.”

The Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM grant awardees are:

Dr. Arenia C. Mallory Community Health Center, Inc. in Lexington, Miss; $228,445: The Dr. Martha W. Davis Healthy Families Movement Program works to reduce the risk of heart disease among low-income, African-American women in Holmes and Madison counties in Mississippi. The program implements a comprehensive cardiovascular wellness program that includes medical, nutritional, fitness and behavior counseling with a targeted stress management and lifestyle change intervention while also providing enjoyable and engaging community-based opportunities for women to increase physical activity, make healthier food choices, cultivate support and lose weight. This is the third consecutive year in which the Mallory Community Health Center has received a grant from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, for a total of $669,125.

Manna Ministries Inc in Picayune, Miss; $152,763: The Heart 2 Heart Initiative aims to engage the community and collaborate in improving cardiovascular disease awareness, while improving the quality of care and patient education through community outreach in the delivery of screening, treatment and heart-healthy lifestyle support. The Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM grant will help Manna Ministries to reduce cardiovascular disease among uninsured and underinsured populations in southern Mississippi and Louisiana. This is the first year that Manna Ministries has received funding from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation.

Organizations can learn more and apply online for a Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM grant at www.astrazeneca-us.com/foundation. Applications must be submitted online no later than 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2014.

About AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation

Established in 1993, the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation is a Delaware not-for-profit corporation and a 501(c)(3) entity organized for charitable purposes, including to promote public awareness of healthcare issues, to promote public education of medical knowledge, and to support or contribute to charitable and qualified exempt organizations consistent with its charitable purpose. Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM was launched in 2010 through a charitable contribution of $25 million from AstraZeneca.

1 Murphy, S.L., Xu, J., & Kochanek, K.D. Deaths: Final data for 2010. National vital statistics reports; vol 61 no 4, 85-86. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2013.

2 List includes Puerto Rico and D.C. Based on 2008-10 age-adjusted death rates (ranked from worst to best cardiovascular disease health). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2014 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2014;129: 123-124. Published online December 18, 2013. Retrieved from: http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2013/12/18/01.cir.0000441139.02102.80.citation

Contacts

Public Communications Inc.
Colleen O’Donnell or Sky Opila, 312-558-1770

Contacts

Public Communications Inc.
Colleen O’Donnell or Sky Opila, 312-558-1770