Haiti Devices and Supplies Relief: Heart to Heart, Welch Allyn Provide Critical Aid in Haiti Quake Zone

Product donations part of collaborative worldwide goodwill program

Press release reprinted from www.hearttoheart.org and www.welchallyn.com - January 27, 2010

OLATHE, Kan./January 27, 2010 — Heart to Heart International Inc., one of America's most efficient charities, is partnering with medical-device company Welch Allyn to provide medical instruments to disaster relief efforts around the world.  Most recently, Heart to Heart has utilized Welch Allyn products, including stethoscopes, diagnostic sets and blood pressure gauges/cuffs, in its shipments of “Ready Relief Boxes” and Medical Surge Modules as part of the broader medical response in Haiti.  In addition to matching all employee donations to the Haiti relief effort, Welch Allyn has also set up a Haiti relief donation page on its public website for visitors who wish to donate directly to the humanitarian organization.

“In our efforts to respond to the medical needs of earthquake survivors in Haiti, it is imperative to have quality diagnostic instruments in the hands of healthcare providers, so they can quickly assess and treat patients affected by this crisis,” said Andre T. Butler, Heart to Heart's chief advancement officer. “Welch Allyn helps us overcome this logistical challenge, so we can help the people of Haiti take effective steps toward recovery.”

In 2009 alone, Welch Allyn donated over $500,000 worth of medical devices to Heart to Heart, so they could be shipped on a moment’s notice wherever and whenever disaster strikes.  Heart to Heart International works directly with humanitarian partners and other entities to ensure that the

medical instruments are distributed to healthcare providers and medical facilities in the affected regions.

“Critical hospitals and clinics in Haiti have suffered massive losses that will take years, if not decades, to restore,” said Welch Allyn Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and fourth- generation Allyn family member David Allyn. “The relationships we have established with vital organizations like Heart to Heart International provide an easy way for us to help people get the care they need—especially in developing countries like Haiti where resources were limited at best even before the earthquake.  We believe it is our responsibility as a good corporate citizen to respond swiftly to aid those in need. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Welch Allyn is passionate about improving the health and well-being of the people and the communities that it is associated with globally. Employees generously give countless hours of their time to improving various aspects of their communities through volunteerism, and the company itself promotes a broad range of community development, education, health and wellness, senior citizen and youth programs. In addition to administering an employee donation matching program, Welch Allyn also works with several nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations to provide humanitarian relief to disadvantaged people throughout the world.

More information about the Welch Allyn corporate social responsibility program can be found at http://www.welchallyn.com/about/responsibility/.

For more about Heart to Heart International visit www.hearttoheart.org.

For more about Welch Allyn visit www.welchallyn.com.

*  *  *

Is your company donating medical devices, supplies or other assistance to help the earthquake victims Haiti?

If so, Medical Devices Today would like to hear about it. Please send publication-ready press releases about what your company is doing to Sean Smith at [email protected].

*  *  *

Make sure you sign up for your FREE weekly email updates including the latest news and analysis from "The Gray Sheet," IN VIVO, Medtech Insight and Start Up.