Covidien supports construction of Mirebalais Hospital

Covidien, a leading global healthcare products company, recently provided Partners In Health funding to aid in the construction of the new Mirebalais Hospital in Haiti. With more than 42,000 employees worldwide in more than 60 countries, and products sold in over 140 countries, Covidien’s international scope proved to be a great fit for Partners In Health.

Since 2008, Covidien has provided generous support to PIH’s Boston-based PACT project. In building upon that relationship, most recently, Covidien has committed $2.5 million to support the construction of the Mirebalais Hospital. This state-of-the art, 320-bed facility exemplifies PIH's efforts to build back better in Haiti. Having broken ground in July of this year, PIH expects the hospital to receive its first patients in January 2012. Covering 180,000 square feet, this will be the largest public hospital outside of Port-au-Prince and will serve as a national center of excellence, a training facility, and an example of how the health care sector can be resuscitated after the tragedy of January 12.

"We're proud that our grant will enable PIH to continue its exemplary work to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need,” said Rich Meelia, Chairman, President & CEO of Covidien.

Covidien is a natural partner for this project, given their immediate and generous response to the earthquake tragedy earlier this year. Covidien reached out to each of its Global Business Units and donated a wide range of medical products that were distributed to various nonprofitorganizations throughout Haiti, including PIH and the USNS Comfort, where many patients received lifesaving emergency treatment. In addition to product donations, Covidien’s matching gifts program enabled employees to match their charitable contributions, dollar-for-dollar, to organizations such as PIH in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Covidienhas a robust social responsibility program, and a mission that is committed to contributing to the availability of affordable, quality healthcare. Dr. David Walton, PIH’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Haiti, said of the collaboration, “We are thrilled to have such strong support for our current flagship project. It is with the help of companies such as Covidien that we are able to build a state-of-the-art facility in one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. We are both grateful and proud to be working with Covidien.”