ConvaTec Donates $10,000 to Global Institute Through Walk for Wellness

SKILLMAN, N.J., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ConvaTec, a world-leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies for community and hospital care, today announced that the company donated $10,000 to the Global Institute for Community Health & Development through the "Walk for Wellness" at the 23rd Annual SAWC/WHS meeting in Orlando, Florida. The Global Institute for Community Health & Development is led by the Miller School of Medicine and is supported by schools throughout the University of Miami.

The "Walk for Wellness" helped raise awareness for the need of ongoing relief efforts in Haiti. Initial relief efforts focused on finding victims, saving lives and reuniting families. However, the work for relief organizations continues as treatment of chronic wounds, deadly infections and limb salvage continues.

"We thank ConvaTec for their generous donation to the Global Institute for Community Health & Development," said Robert Kirsner, MD, PhD, who directed the University wound care efforts in Haiti. "Not only does the monetary donation help contribute to our ongoing efforts in Haiti, but our efforts in helping to establish a new paradigm in the 21st century for universities in the United States, and internationally, to act as agents of global benefit."

More than 2,000 conference participants were provided with pedometers that counted each step they took during the conference. Participants logged in nearly four million steps as they walked the equivalent of a trip from Orlando, FL, the site of this year's SAWC/WHS, to Phoenix, AZ, the location for the upcoming WOCN/WCET meeting.

"We are pleased to sponsor these walks and work together with the many men and woman who attended these conferences to make a difference in the lives of people living in Haiti," stated Michael Steadman, President of ConvaTec Wound Therapeutics. "The Global Institute for Community Health & Development works tirelessly to deliver community-driven health and development programs with a focus on underserved communities in the United States and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. We are happy to contribute to the ongoing work they do."

Impressed with the rate of participation and confident that the attendees of this year's WOCN/WCET can deliver similar results, ConvaTec has decided to extend the event to the 2010 Joint Conference of WOCN/WCET. Now called the "WOC for Wellness," ConvaTec will donate $10,000 to the WOCN Scholarship Fund. Participants will be able to obtain a pedometer when they arrive, or anytime during the meeting which takes place June 12-16, 2010.

About The Global Institute for Community Health & Development

The Global Institute for Community Health & Development aims to mobilize global collaborations in the pursuit of health and prosperity for all human beings. The institute seeks to generate new knowledge and apply interdisciplinary solutions to impact the most challenging health and development dilemmas of the millennium and contribute to the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals. The Global Institute is led by the Miller School of Medicine and supported by schools throughout the University of Miami.

The Global Institute will undertake community-driven health and development programs with a focus on underserved communities in the United States and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In doing so, the Global Institute will extend the University's and the Miller School's core mission areas of academic excellence, new knowledge, and service to the community, to contribute to health and development in the region.

Through its activities, the Global Institute seeks to act as a gateway to health and development in the Western Hemisphere and beyond, and help to establish a new paradigm in the 21st century for universities in the United States, and internationally, to act as agents of global benefit.

About the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC)

The 23rd Annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care and Wound Healing Society Spring Meeting (SAWC/WHS Spring)  is regarded industry-wide as the premier educational wound care-focused program. From its humble beginning in 1988, when a small group of enterostomal (ET) nurses and physicians interested in this new discipline created a mission and vision to provide an interdisciplinary forum on wound care, the SAWC/WHS Spring meeting has grown to become the largest annual gathering of wound care clinicians, researchers and industry representatives in the United States.

This was the fourth year that the Wound Healing Society (WHS) had their annual meeting in combination with SAWC Spring. Founded in 1989, WHS is recognized among professionals and government agencies as a leading scientific organization focused in this area of wound healing. Today, its membership consists of about 500 clinicians and scientists. The SAWC/WHS partnership reflects the need for clinicians to better understand the research and science behind wound management for optimal outcomes while underscoring the importance of proving medical necessity in an increasingly regulated healthcare world.

About the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN)

Founded in 1968, the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN) is a professional, international nursing society of more than 4,600 healthcare professionals who are experts in the care of patients with wound, ostomy and incontinence.

About the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (WCET)

The World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (WCET) was inaugurated three decades ago in response to advances in nursing, medicine and surgery. These same developments also led to the creation of a new nursing specialty, Enterostomal Therapy Nursing (ETN), which has evolved over the past 30 years to become a major component in the management of ostomy, wound and continence care. The WCET provides an international forum for Enterostomal Therapy Nurses and a global vehicle for discussion, communication, research, advice and support in the field of Enterostomal Therapy Nursing. The WCET is focused on leading the global advancement of specialised professional nursing care for people with ostomy, wound or continence needs.

About ConvaTec

ConvaTec is a leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies that have helped improve the lives of millions of people worldwide. With four key business divisions – Ostomy Care, Wound Therapeutics, Continence and Critical Care and Infusion Devices – ConvaTec products support health care professionals from the hospital to the community health setting. From its headquarters in Skillman, New Jersey, the company oversees more than 8,000 employees in over 90 countries serving consumers and their health care professionals on six continents. For more information, please visit www.convatec.com.

SOURCE ConvaTec