The Oasis Institute, a thought leader in healthy aging, and Anthem Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Anthem, Inc., continue their partnership to offer free classes to older adults through the Oasis Healthy Habits program. With the support of the Foundation’s $267,000 grant, the Oasis Healthy Habits for Adults will provide more opportunities for older adults to learn healthy fitness and nutrition habits. The program consists of peer-led classes that teach older adults how making incremental adjustments in their diet and physical activity can have a big impact on their health.
“Ninety-two percent of older adults have at least one chronic disease including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer,” said Paul Weiss, president of The Oasis Institute. “With the support of Anthem Foundation, we are excited to be able to offer Healthy Habits for Adults classes for free in six communities across the country.”
The six cities involved in the program are St. Louis, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Tucson, AZ; Richmond, VA; San Diego and Los Angeles, CA.
“The Anthem Foundation is committed to supporting initiatives that can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of the communities we serve,” said Marc Russo, President of Anthem’s Medicare business. “Evidenced-based programs like Oasis Healthy Habits for Adults are vital for older adults who want to practice healthy habits to help combat chronic conditions; the collaboration between the Foundation and Oasis exemplifies our commitment to reduce health disparities while increasing access to quality services and information that can help older adults create and sustain a healthy lifestyle.”
Oasis Healthy Habits for Adults classes are based on concepts from the MyPlate of Older Adults program developed by Tufts University. Classes teach older adults how to limit salt, sugar and fat while increasing whole grains, protein, fruits and vegetables in their diet. The hour-long interactive classes also include low-impact exercises and a healthy snack.
For more information on the program, visit the St. Louis Oasis Healthy Habits website.
About the Oasis
Oasis is a national education organization that promotes healthy aging through lifelong learning and service. Offering stimulating programs in the arts, humanities, health, technology and volunteer service, Oasis brings people together to learn, lead and contribute in their communities. The Oasis Institute in St. Louis is the headquarters of a national network that serves a broad audience in 42 U.S. cities through nine educational centers and community partners. For more information, visit www.oasisnet.org
About Anthem Foundation
The Anthem Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Anthem, Inc. and through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes the inherent commitment of Anthem, Inc. to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem, Inc. and its affiliated health plans serve. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company’s year-round Associate Giving program which provides a 50 percent match of associates’ pledges, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. To learn more about the Anthem Foundation, please visit http://www.anthem.foundation and its blog at https://medium.com/anthemfoundation.
