Helping children with sickle cell disease (SCD) learn to swim safely takes more than a single organization – it requires trusted community relationships, experienced instructors, clinical knowledge, and families willing to take a step toward something that may once have seemed out of reach. 

That collaborative approach is at the heart of The Cigna Group’s Safe Swimming with Sickle Cell program. The initiative brings together The Cigna Group, and local health care and community organizations, including the YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and The Sickle Cell Foundation of Tennessee, to provide children and caregivers with condition-specific water-safety education and supervised swim instruction. The program is also supported by employee volunteers from across The Cigna Group, including Accredo and Cigna Healthcare.

To explore the impact of this community partnership, Ivy Bryant, an employee of The Cigna Group whose daughter’s SCD inspired her to create the program, recently spoke with Brian McLaughlin, president and CEO of the YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South, about what makes the partnership work and how it’s helping families in Memphis build skills, trust, and confidence. 

Combining expertise with community trust 

SCD affects about 100,000 people in the U.S. with 90% of those affected are non-Hispanic African American/Black. In Memphis (Shelby County), 1 in 287 babies are born with the disease – a figure that has historically been higher than the U.S. average. In fact, according to the CDC, there are two adjacent Memphis ZIP codes that contain nearly 20% of all SCD cases in Memphis.

Safe Swimming with Sickle Cell was created to address a critical gap: while swimming is an essential life skill, children living with sickle cell disease are often discouraged from participating because of concerns about hydration, fatigue, and sudden temperature changes. Through clinically informed safety protocols, tailored water-safety education, and strong local partnerships, the program helps children learn to swim safely while building confidence, connection, and community.

Launched in Atlanta in 2024 in partnership with the YMCA of Metro Atlanta and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the program expanded to Memphis in 2025, helping provide free swim lessons and water-safety education to nearly 200 children and caregivers.

For McLaughlin, the collaboration reflects the YMCA’s role in helping communities close gaps that no organization can address alone. “This swim lesson isn’t just about a swim lesson,” he said. “It’s about opportunity, educational outcomes, building confidence, and building leaders.” 

A community-driven model with room to grow 

For Bryant, the program's success demonstrates the power of combining local expertise with a shared commitment to health equity. She describes the program's foundation as education, confidence, and connection – noting that every market brings together health care providers, community organizations, and trusted instructors to meet families where they are.

"With the YMCA's national footprint, the framework is there," Bryant said during the interview. "We can take this model that works so well in Memphis, and expand on the unique and different aspects of the next community – driven by local partnerships and collaboration.”

That model is continuing to grow. Safe Swimming with Sickle Cell expanded to Washington, D.C., in 2026, with additional communities under consideration. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, the program is designed to work alongside local partners to address the unique needs of each community while maintaining the clinically informed framework that makes swimming safer and more accessible for children living with sickle cell disease.