Arthritis Foundation Improves the Lives of Thousands with Arthritis with Support from the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation

Grant Successfully Promotes Physical Activity through Arthritis Foundation's Certified Exercise Programs in Southern California

LOS ANGELES, July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During the past twelve months, the Arthritis Foundation, Pacific Region, has doubled the number of participants in its certified Life Improvement Series exercise programs in Los Angeles and Orange counties and the Inland Empire. This achievement was made possible by a generous grant from the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation. The Arthritis Foundation developed 34 new partnerships and expanded the capacity of existing partner organizations to offer its evidence-based aquatic, exercise and Walk with Ease programs to reach an additional 9,000 people with arthritis. Partner organizations included hospitals, senior living centers, city recreation departments, school districts, nonprofit service organizations and fitness facilities.

Manuel Loya, C.E.O. of the Arthritis Foundation, Pacific Region, stated, "We thank the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation and our new partner organizations for reducing the pain and physical limitations of arthritis through provision of the Foundation's certified, life-enhancing exercise classes." He added, "Support from the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation also allowed us to field a multimedia public awareness campaign to educate consumers about the importance of physical activity in managing arthritis, the nation's leading cause of disability." The public service announcement campaign featured testimonials from Arthritis Foundation class participants. Susan Manzer, an aquatic class participant, affirmed, "The class radically changed my life--it was like you gave me my life back again."

Arthritis Foundation programs have been tested and scientifically proven to reduce arthritis pain and increase function. The Arthritis Foundation's Life Improvement Series is nationally recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and the California State Department of Public Health.

About The Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) is committed to raising awareness and reducing the unacceptable impact of arthritis, which strikes one in every five adults and 300,000 children, and is the nation's leading cause of disability. To conquer this painful, debilitating disease, we support education, research, advocacy and other vital programs and services.

About the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation
Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Association, promotes Anthem Blue Cross's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that the company serves. 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. ® ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross names and symbol are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association.

SOURCE Arthritis Foundation, Pacific Region