Siemens Honored by Department of Defense Agency for Supporting Massachusetts Guardsman

NORWOOD, Mass., May, 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Norwood, Massachusetts facility of Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (NYSE: SI) was honored today with a 'Patriot Award' and an 'Above and Beyond Award' from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense agency. Both recognitions stem from a nomination submitted by a Norwood employee returning to work following a year-long deployment to Europe with the U.S. Navy, where she worked as a laboratory technician to help treat soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO )

Patriot Awards go to employers who practice leadership and implement personnel policies that support employee participation in the U.S. National Guard and Reserve. Given in more limited quantities, Above and Beyond Awards are then given to those companies who also go above and beyond the legal requirements for granting leave and providing support for military duty by their employees.(1)

For Siemens employee and mother-of-two, Michele McKeon, this support included being allowed a flexible work schedule that enabled her to pursue training as a Chief Petty Officer upon return from deployment, as well as rejoin Siemens full time as a technical support specialist for hematology and urinalysis systems in the company's Technical Solutions Center. McKeon acknowledges that she struggled to readjust to civilian life, but was encouraged to seek counseling and outside help by her Siemens supervisors, who also fully supported her throughout the process.

"I cannot say enough about Siemens," said McKeon, who served in the U.S. Army for 12 years before joining the Navy. "They have supported me through a year-long deployment with packages and videos and when I came home, they welcomed me with open arms. Their dedication to me and my family has been a blessing during a difficult time."

When she is on reserve duty, McKeon oversees 16 sailors in a clinic setting. Her unit provides medical support for all reservists in the New England area, making sure they are medically and dentally ready in the event they are mobilized for deployment.

"We are very honored by Michele's gesture of appreciation, but more so by her dedicated service to her country and to Siemens," said Joyce Lampron, Senior Manager, Technical Solutions Center at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, and one of several colleagues who helped support McKeon during this period. "We are just happy that we were in a position where we could show our support while she was deployed and after she returned safely home. Siemens has always been the type of company that strongly advocates for its employees, and this is just another great example."

About ESGR

ESGR was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve component members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment. It is a staff group within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OASD/RA), which is in itself a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Today, ESGR operates through a network of thousands of volunteers throughout the nation and Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 48,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2010 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 12.4 billion euros and profit of around 750 million euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.

(1) http://www.esgr.org/site/Programs/AboveandBeyondAward.aspx

SOURCE Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics