Medco Partners with AmeriCares to Rush Donated Medicines to Help Victims of the Haiti Earthquake
Medco to begin shipping medicines to Haiti on Saturday, January 16
FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medco Health Solutions Inc., (NYSE: MHS), on behalf of its affiliate companies and the Medco Foundation, today announced the donation of a wide range of critically needed generic medicines to assist in the global humanitarian relief effort for victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
To ensure the medicines quickly reach those in need, Medco is partnering with AmeriCares, a Stamford, Conn.-based nonprofit global disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization. AmeriCares has been providing humanitarian aid to Haiti since 1984, delivering more than $145 million worth of medical aid and relief to the impoverished country.
Medco, one of the nation's largest purchasers of medicines, identified within its pharmacy inventories the medicines targeted as "most in need" by AmeriCares. The company will begin sending shipments to Haiti via AmeriCares beginning Saturday, January 16, and will continue to send product as needed. Among the medicines needed are antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, diabetes, gastrointestinal and vitamin products. The donations are being shipped from Medco's automated pharmacies in Willingboro, N.J. and Las Vegas.
In addition, the Medco Foundation is organizing a group of Medco employee healthcare volunteers – pharmacists, nurses and other clinicians – who speak French or Creole to travel to Port-au-Prince to assist in the relief effort.
"We are deeply saddened by this disaster and our hearts and hands reach out to the millions of victims and their families," said David B. Snow Jr., Medco chairman and CEO. "Medco employees are eager to contribute to the relief effort, and as a company dedicated to providing advanced pharmacy care to more than 60 million members, we are working together to share our unique skills and resources to help those who have survived this tragedy."
Medco is also encouraging employees to contribute financially to the relief effort, and will match employee donations to one of the following relief organizations: the American Red Cross, AmeriCares and Save the Children.
"One of the Medco Foundation's inaugural initiatives is called 'Give Health A Hand' – which encourages Americans to pledge their support to improving healthcare and become personally involved in volunteering to support friends, family members and their communities. This effort undertaken by Medco and its employees extends the healing hand of health internationally," said Thomas M. Moriarty, president, Medco Foundation.
About AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a nonprofit international disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, which delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in crisis around the world. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $9.0 billion in humanitarian aid to 137 countries. For more information, visit www.AmeriCares.org.
About the Medco Foundation
The Medco Foundation was established with the generous support of Medco Health Solutions, Inc. The Foundation focuses on supporting activities aimed at educating and informing the general public about health, wellness and medicine safety issues; providing low income, disadvantaged and other distressed populations and communities with access to medicine and information about medicine; and fostering and promoting opportunities for volunteerism and civic engagement generally. The Medco Foundation is in the process of applying to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) corporation.
For more information, go to http://www.givehealthahand.org.
About Medco
Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) is pioneering the world's most advanced pharmacy® and its clinical research and innovations are part of Medco making medicine smarter™ for more than 60 million members.
With more than 20,000 employees dedicated to improving patient health and reducing costs for a wide range of public and private sector clients, and 2008 revenue exceeding $51 billion, Medco ranks 45th on the Fortune 500 list and is named among the world's most innovative, most admired and most trustworthy companies.
For more information, go to http://www.medcohealth.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
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