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P r o f i l e s i n e x c e l l e n c e M a i n e — A P h oto P o rt r A i t o f t h e P i n e t r ee S tAt e 131 The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation provides significant funding to support programs that add to the health and wellbeing of Maine people in key areas measured by Anthem's State Health Index. P h o t o B y c o r e y t e M P l e t o n P h o t o c o u r t e s y o f M a i n e W i n t e r s P o r t s c e n t e r Top: A major grant from the Anthem Foundation improved the popular Back Cove section of the Portland Trails system. Funding helped enhance trail safety for thousands of Mainers who use the trail each year for running, walking, and biking. Bottom: Anthem helped showcase world-class athletes as primary sponsor of the E.On IBU Biathlon World Cup hosted by the Maine Winter Sports Center in Presque Isle and Fort Kent. The economic boost to Aroostook County included showing 120 million TV viewers the quality of life in northern Maine. A nthem's longtime presence in Maine has re- sulted in a powerful culture of supporting lo- cal communities. In addition to local giving, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foun- dation supports a variety of critical programs and services that promote the health and wellbeing of Mainers. "In support of our mission, the majority of our chari- table support is aimed at health-related causes," said Corcoran. "Using our State Health Index as a guide, our efforts focus on some of Maine's most pressing health issues." Anthem's State Health Index, developed from information collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), continually tracks eight guiding measures of public health focusing on maternity and prenatal care, preventive care, lifestyle, illness and death. To help Maine address the predicted shortage of trained nurses in the future, Anthem's foundation provided funding for the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Nursing Simulation Center at Central Maine Community College, which enables nursing students to gain valuable clinical experi- ence in a state-of-the-art laboratory where nursing students can train on lifelike patient simulators. A similar grant funded Northern Maine Commu- nity College's Allied Health Simulation Laboratory, which trains nursing and EMT students in the north- ern part of the state. In its ongoing efforts to encourage healthy lifestyles, Anthem joins with a range of organizations to reach out to children, families, adults, seniors and the work- force with support that helps improve their health. These include YMCAs throughout Maine, which hold the YMCA's Healthy Kids Day to show children and families that they can enjoy staying active; the Schoodic Education and Research Center Institute for the Healthy Kids for a Healthy Acadia program, which targets grade school-aged and preteen children in Washington, Han- cock and Aroostook counties who are at risk to become overweight; the OASIS Institute, which trains adults age 50 and older to teach the CATCH (Coordinated Ap- proach to Child Health) Healthy Habits program to chil- dren in kindergarten through fifth grade; and the Boys & Girls Clubs, where kids in Maine joined their peers across the nation to break the Guinness World Record for the most people doing jumping jacks at one time. In addition to the company's strong commitment to corporate philanthropy, Anthem associates have a long history of supporting community causes, from events on the South Portland campus that raise funds for a broad range of causes to Anthem's Associate Giv- ing Campaign, which in 2011 donated over $173,000 to agencies across Maine. "We're proud to be a company made up of Maine people who care deeply about the state where we live and work," said Corcoran.