Aetna Announces $500,000 Grant to Adventist Health for Nursing Educational Assistance Plan; Program Will Focus on Recruiting Minority Students in Areas Experiencing Nursing Shortages.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced a $500,000 grant to Adventist Health to provide educational assistance focused on ethnically diverse nursing students in areas of the state that are experiencing a shortage of nurses. The educational assistance plan will cover tuition, books and supplies over a two-year period, and recipients will commit to working at an Adventist Health hospital for a minimum of three years after graduation.

Four Adventist Health hospitals in California were identified for participation in the program, based on their nurse vacancy rates and their locations in communities with large minority populations. The facilities include Paradise Valley Hospital in National City; White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles; San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield; and Hanford Community Medical Center in Hanford.

"Aetna is committed to promoting diversity within our company and in the communities that we serve," said Curtis Terry, Aetna's Regional President for the West region. "We believe that this educational assistance plan will improve the quality of patient care both by increasing the number of nurses in these geographic areas and by enhancing culturally competent care."

"Adventist Health is committed to finding the best nurses and helping them succeed in their careers," stated Wynelle Huff, vice president of Delivery of Care for Adventist Health. "We're grateful for the grant that Aetna has given our system and believe it will go a long way in helping us find quality clinicians who will in turn enhance the services we provide our patients."

Qualified students will be recruited from the local communities where the four selected hospitals are located and will be able to attend a nursing program at one of seven participating local colleges. At the end of their training, recipients will commit to working at their sponsoring hospital for a minimum of three years.

About Aetna

As one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 14.65 million medical members, 13.03 million dental members, 9.34 million pharmacy members and 13.67 million group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost-effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 700,000 health care professionals, including over 418,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 4,231 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of September 30, 2005)

About Adventist Health

Adventist Health is a not-for-profit, faith-based health system operating in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Founded on the Seventh-day Adventist heritage of Christian health care, Adventist Health is comprised of 20 hospitals with more than 3,100 beds, 18,800 employees, numerous clinics and outpatient facilities, 16 home care agencies and three joint-venture retirement centers. For more information, visit www.adventisthealth.org.