Published: March 14, 2011

Aetna and The Sunrise Health Hospitals Bring Healthy Eating and Healthy Living Movement to Las Vegas with the Aetna Healthy Food Fight

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LAS VEGAS - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Aetna (NYSE:AET) and The Sunrise Health Hospitals, will be hosting a healthy cooking contest on May 1, 2011, at Town Square in Las Vegas. The Aetna Healthy Food Fight was developed with chefs from The Culinary Institute of America (The CIA). Anyone with an original healthy recipe can enter the contest for a chance to cook at the event. The winner of the contest will win an all-expenses paid trip to New York City, including dinner at a top restaurant donated by 96.3 KKLZ FM, plus a one-year H2U membership provided by The Sunrise Health Hospitals. H2U provides members with health and wellness information, interactive tools, discounts on health care services and more.

"Aetna kicked off the Aetna Healthy Food Fight in 2010 to spread the word about the importance of healthy eating in achieving better overall health. The response was overwhelmingly positive with more than 689 recipes submitted for the national contest," said Kay Thompson, Aetna's Nevada Market President. "We are thrilled to team up with The Sunrise Health Hospitals, one of our largest customers in Nevada, to bring the Aetna Healthy Food Fight to Las Vegas. We hope that this contest will create a community-based dialogue around healthy eating and healthy living that lives well beyond the event itself."

In 2010 Aetna launched the Aetna Healthy Food Fight, a healthy cooking contest that made stops in 10 cities across the country. The winner of each local event received the chance to cook at the finale, which took place in Los Angeles in November 2010.

"As one of the largest health care systems in the Las Vegas valley, we are continually looking at ways to bring innovative programs that promote healthy living to Las Vegas-area residents," said Sylvia Young, President of The Sunrise Health System. "By hosting this contest and encouraging people to submit their healthiest recipes, we hope to spread the word that there are easy ways to incorporate healthy ingredients into cooking and eating which in turn can have a significant impact on overall health."

To submit an original recipe for the Las Vegas Aetna Healthy Food Fight event co-sponsored by The Sunrise Health Hospitals or to learn more about the contest, go to www.healthyfoodfight.com/lasvegas. Chefs from The CIA will screen recipes and select up to 24 contestants to cook at the event. People will cook their creation live and be judged by The CIA chefs, Las Vegas resident Julie Hession, the 2010 national winner of the Aetna Healthy Food Fight, and local VIPs. Spectators are encouraged to attend the event to cheer on the participants and learn about healthy cooking and eating. All recipe entries must be received by April 11, 2011.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 35.3 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com. To learn more about Aetna's innovative online tools, visit www.aetnatools.com.

About Sunrise Health:

Sunrise Health is the most technologically advanced hospital network in the central Southwest. Committed to providing the finest healthcare, Sunrise Health includes Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, MountainView Hospital, Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center, and Sunrise Children's Hospital, as well as outpatient diagnostic, imaging and surgical centers. Specialty services include a suite of the latest diagnostic and surgical technologies, The Nevada Neurosciences Institute, a designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Breast Center at Sunrise, the state's most comprehensive Children's Hospital and Las Vegas' first network of Certified Stroke Centers and Accredited Chest Pain Centers.

For more information about Sunrise Health visit www.SunriseHealthInfo.com.

Need a Physician? Call 702-233-5300.