The Wellness Coalition One of Nine Innovative Heart Health Organizations From Across the Country to Receive Grant From Astrazeneca Healthcare Foundation.

The Wellness Coalition’s innovation and commitment to improve the heart health of the people of Montgomery was recognized with a grant from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation’s Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM Next Generation program. The $149,288 grant will fund the HeartLink – Improving Cardiovascular Health in the Alabama River Region program.

HeartLink – Improving Cardiovascular Health in the Alabama River Region is one of nine programs to receive funding through this first year of the Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM Next Generation program. The program, which builds on the Foundation’s Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM program and 10 years of lessons learned to address a leading cause of death in the nation, launched on World Heart Day to elevate awareness of cardiovascular disease and ways to address it at the community level.

 “Over the past 20 years, The Wellness Coalition has made great strides toward improving access to health and wellness services for residents in the River Region,” said Ghandi Daniels, executive director of The Wellness Coalition. “This partnership with the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation will help us reach new milestones as we continue the fight against cardiovascular disease and chronic conditions experienced by the populations we serve.”

The grant from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation will help The Wellness Coalition to improve the cardiovascular health and health behaviors of uninsured and underinsured adults in Alabama’s River Region through:

  • Education on self-management techniques
  • Improved access to primary care
  • Health insurance enrollment assistance
  • Free or low-cost medications through public and private programs
  • Community resources.

These services will be delivered by trained wellness navigators providing wellness case management and chronic disease self-management education.

“Through CCH Next Generation, we’re expanding the reach of our program to new communities to continue working to improve heart health across the country,” said James W. Blasetto, MD, MPH, FACC, chairman of the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation. “We’re proud to be supporting The Wellness Coalition and look forward to seeing how they help meet their community’s unmet cardiovascular needs.”

For more information about the HeartLink – Improving Cardiovascular Health in the Alabama River Region program, contact Martine Rocker at (334) 293-6502.

About The Wellness Coalition
The Wellness Coalition provides no-cost coaching, education, and other services for River Region residents to manage and prevent chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, hypertension, obesity, and more. To learn more visit us at www.thewellnesscoalition.org or call (334) 293-6502.

About AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation

Established in 1993, the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation is a Delaware not-for-profit corporation and a 501(c)(3) entity, separate from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, organized for charitable purposes including to promote public awareness and education of healthcare issues and support nonprofit organizations consistent with its charitable purpose. Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM was launched in 2010 and has received $35 million in charitable contributions from AstraZeneca to date. The program has awarded over $24.8 million in grants to 58 organizations nationwide. More than 1.7 million people have been reached by the program and over 65,000 people have had their heart health progress tracked through a variety of Grant Awardees’ programs. For more information and the latest updates, follow the Foundation on Facebook (@AstraZenecaHealthCareFoundation), Twitter (@ConnectCVHealth) and YouTube (ConnectionsCVHealth).