Stephanie Stahl, ‘DocRock’ to Headline CIGNA Foundation Forum on Health of Philly Kids and Urban Community

CBS 3 medical specialist Stephanie Stahl and physician and popular children’s entertainer Dr. Mache Seibel will join other experts from medicine, media, community services and health to discuss "Growing Up Healthy: Raising Children in an Urban Environment” October 14 at Mitten Hall on the Main Campus of Temple University. This day-long public event is presented by the CIGNA (NYSE:CI) Foundation.

The forum will offer a comprehensive approach to urban children’s health encompassing the steps caregivers can take in their interactions with children and the actions that the Philadelphia community can take to ensure that its youngest citizens have a healthy future. According to Gianna Jackson, executive director of the CIGNA Foundation, it is this broad agenda that makes the forum unique.

"Being healthy depends on making healthy choices every day, and having those choices readily available. When it comes to the health of children, caregivers and the community have complementary roles to play in providing an environment that helps guarantee that healthy choices can be made. The CIGNA Foundation Forum has been designed to allow everyone who cares about the health of our children to share ideas and develop solutions,” Jackson said.

Dr. Calvin Johnson, vice president and chief medical officer of the Temple University Health System, will open the day with an outline of the unique challenges children face in an urban environment. Next, the morning session will turn to experts in pediatrics, obesity, health communications and media. The morning will be capped by a panel discussion on strategies caregivers can use to communicate healthy messages to children, moderated by CBS broadcaster Stephanie Stahl.

The afternoon session will broaden the discussion to include a look at how community health affects children’s health, engaging participants in workshops exploring the social root causes of illness such as lack of access to grocery stores or safe sidewalks. The Philadelphia forum will mark the first time that CIGNA's Communities of Health model, already introduced in Las Vegas, Houston, and Berrien County, Michigan, will be used to specifically address children’s health in an urban environment.

At lunch, the audience will hear a performance and talk by Dr. Mache Seibel who, as "DocRock,” sings and records songs that teach children about health and wellness. DocRock’s latest song helps children prevent H1N1. Dr. Seibel has appeared on The Today Show, PBS, Inside Edition, ABC and NPR, and has been featured in People Magazine and the New York Times.

The event is the third annual CIGNA Foundation Forum on Health. Earlier forums addressed health literacy and the connection between a healthy mind and body. This year’s forum is being presented in partnership with the Temple University College of Health Professions and Social Work, and the Fox School of Business.

About CIGNA and CIGNA Foundation

CIGNA (NYSE:CI), a global health service company, is dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation's operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance, to approximately 46 million people throughout the United States and around the world. To learn more about CIGNA, visit www.cigna.com. To sign up for email alerts or an RSS feed of company news, log on to http://newsroom.cigna.com/section_display.cfm?section_id=18 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.