BETHESDA, MD and DUBLIN, Ireland – May 19, 2014 – Covidien, a global health care technology and medical supplies provider, and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) today announced recipients of the 2014 Covidien Challenge Grant program. These awards are the latest under a seven-year collaboration that has helped bring quality health care to underserved populations in hundreds of communities.

Community Health Centers in 24 communities received challenge grants totaling more than $1 million. These grants will enable the centers to access additional grants and other untapped sources of private funds for small- to mid-level capital improvement projects.

Since 2007, Covidien has worked with the NACHC to award nearly 100 grants totaling more than $4 million to health centers in 36 states to expand services, increase patient capacity and provide medical professionals with the latest technology to address specific patient needs.

“This partnership supports our commitment to increase access to quality, affordable healthcare by helping to meet the growing health needs of communities and the people they serve,” said Michael Tarnoff, M.D., global chief medical officer, Covidien.  “By partnering with NACHC we are able to help provide quality health care to communities across the U.S. while reducing the need for costly emergency room care.” 

In addition to the Challenge Grant program, Covidien and NACHC work together to identify other national programs to benefit community health centers. These include support for the CEO and CFO Institutes, which received Covidien funding in order to support strong leadership in the provision of critical community resources at health centers, as well as an initiative that assists health centers in efforts to hire skilled veterans.

“Through this collaboration we have successfully directed millions of dollars to Community Health Centers that are able to amplify that support with matching grants,” said Malvise A. Scott, senior vice president, Partnership and Resource Development, NACHC. “Our work with Covidien has directly supported our mission of extending quality, community-based health care to America's medically underserved and uninsured.” 

Covidien also provides grants through COVIDIEN CARES, the company’s global giving and community outreach program. For more information, please visit www.covidien.com/covidiencares.

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About the National Association of Community Health Centers
Founded in 1970, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance and expand access to quality, community-responsive health care for America's medically underserved and uninsured.  NACHC represents the nation's network of over 1,200 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which serve over 22 million people through over 9,000 sites located in all of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. For more information on the National Association of Community Health Centers, please visit http://www.nachc.org.
About Covidien
Covidien is a leading global healthcare products company that creates innovative medical solutions for better patient outcomes and delivers value through clinical leadership and excellence.  Covidien develops, manufactures and sells a diverse range of industry-leading medical device and supply products. With 2013 revenue of $10.2 billion, Covidien has more than 38,000 employees worldwide in more than 70 countries, and its products are sold in over 150 countries. Please visit www.covidien.com to learn more about our business.

Contacts
Peter Lucht Amy Simmons Farber
Covidien NACHC
508-452-4168 301-347-0400
peter.lucht@covidien.com asimmons@nachc.org

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