BD and Heart to Heart International Collaborate on Second Volunteer Service Trip to Help Improve Healthcare in Haiti

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. and OLATHE, Kan., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, and Heart to Heart International, a humanitarian medical aid nonprofit organization, are teaming up for their second joint volunteer initiative to strengthen healthcare in Haiti.  A team of 16 BD employees from around the world will build upon the progress made by their colleagues in 2011 during BD's first Volunteer Service Trip to Haiti.  This year, a new team of employees have volunteered to travel to Haiti for three weeks to continue BD's work with Heart to Heart partners at medical clinics to improve the country's ability to provide community healthcare services.  

"This is BD's seventh volunteer trip to help strengthen healthcare capacity in underserved regions by sharing some of our Company's greatest assets – our employees and their expertise – with local care providers," said Vincent A. Forlenza, Chief Executive Officer and President, BD.  "Working with an organization like Heart to Heart, which has tremendous in-country knowledge, maximizes the impact BD can make in Haiti. Our ongoing commitment to the country's recovery reflects BD's purpose of 'Helping all people live healthy lives.'"

Following the January 2010 earthquake, BD immediately committed $5 million in product donations to assist in the relief and recovery efforts. To date, BD has sent more than $4.1 million in product donations to Haiti.  Heart to Heart has deployed nearly 700 medical volunteers in Haiti, delivered more than $43 million (U.S. wholesale) worth of life-saving medical aid, and treated more than 108,000 people — approximately 2,500 monthly — at clinical sites in Haiti.  The BD volunteers are working with medical staff to build on their existing patient care services by:

• Collaborating with the National Lab of Haiti to develop Standard Operating Procedures for medical laboratories and providing lab training to improve diagnostic practices and disease management
• Constructing laboratories in two urban healthcare clinics and developing a "lab in a box" for auxiliary and mobile clinics in rural areas to increase access to quality care
• Creating materials for and conducting healthcare worker and patient education on proper hygiene, nutrition and sexually transmitted diseases to help reduce the spread of disease
• Replacing temporary patient facilities with permanent structures to improve care conditions.

"BD has joined us as a stakeholder in Haiti's future," said Andre T. Butler, Chief Executive Officer, Heart to Heart International. "We are thrilled that BD invests in global engagement activities like this for their employees, who are helping to advance our health-focused mission in Haiti, while pursuing BD's purpose as well."

This is the seventh company-sponsored Volunteer Service Trip that BD employees have made to improve sustainable healthcare capacity in medically underserved regions.  BD's previous volunteer trips served regions of Ghana and Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa. Beyond the Volunteer Service Trip, BD and Heart to Heart have worked together since 2003, helping people in developing countries and disaster-ravaged areas, supplying and delivering specifically requested medical supplies to communities in greatest need. BD and its associates contribute money, products, talent and time to help people throughout the world treat disease and improve lives by raising health standards.

About BD 
BD is a leading global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents.  The Company is dedicated to improving people's health throughout the world.  BD is focused on improving drug delivery, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases and cancers, and advancing research, discovery and production of new drugs and vaccines.  BD's capabilities are instrumental in combating many of the world's most pressing diseases.  Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 29,000 associates in more than 50 countries throughout the world.  The Company serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, the pharmaceutical industry and the general public. For more information, please visit www.bd.com.

About Heart to Heart International 
Heart to Heart International is improving global health through initiatives that connect people and resources to a world in need.  Since Heart to Heart's founding in 1992, volunteers have helped deliver aid worth $1 billion in U.S. wholesale value to 115 countries, including the United States.  The organization was named to Forbes magazine's prestigious list of "America's 200 Largest Charities" in 2011 and was recognized as one of the top nonprofits in the categories of donor efficiency and charitable commitment.  For more information on its programs and ways to get involved, visit www.hearttoheart.org.

SOURCE BD; Heart to Heart International