The Medco Foundation Joins With the Entertainment Industry Foundation to 'Give Health a Hand' to Communities in Need

The Medco Foundation Joins With the Entertainment Industry Foundation to 'Give Health a Hand' to Communities in Need

The Medco Foundation through www.givehealthahand.org will help mobilize Americans to close gaps in care that plague nation's healthcare system

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medco Health Solutions, Inc (NYSE:MHS) today announced the creation of the Medco Foundation -- a non-profit organization to support activities aimed at educating and informing the general public about health, wellness and medicine safety issues; providing low income, disadvantaged and other distressed populations and communities with access to medicine and information about medicine; and fostering and promoting opportunities for volunteerism and civic engagement.

In addition, the Medco Foundation today joined with the Entertainment Industry Foundation's iParticipate initiative to unveil the Foundation's "Give Health a Hand" program. This nationwide program provides individuals the opportunity to help others get healthy by closing the gaps in health care related to the inability to afford medicines or simply not knowing how certain drugs interact.

Give Health a Hand (www.givehealthahand.org) is focused on helping to care for those with chronic conditions and who are in financial need.

"Improving the health of our nation begins with each of us as individuals reaching out -- one person to another -- and that's the essential fabric of the Medco Foundation and the Give Health a Hand program," said Jay Silverstein, a director of the Medco Foundation. "Our vision for this initiative is to harness the spirit of giving and channel it towards the health and well-being of people in need."

Give Health a Hand will include three major components, each focused on closing particular gaps in care that plague the nation's health care system and impact the lives of millions of Americans. The Medco Foundation is exploring ways to facilitate the availability of generic medicines to those in communities in need.

The second component harnesses the power of volunteerism. As part of this initiative, the Foundation will solicit volunteers from Medco's staff of 22,000 employees nationwide, as well as enlist the support of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and citizens to help those most in need.

"The Medco Foundation is considering ways to collaborate with those on the front lines of health care - medical professionals in communities in need - to directly provide medicines to those in need and make valuable information available and accessible to them," said Silverstein. "Our efforts are designed to transform dollars into doses of potentially life-saving medicines for people who quite simply are going without, as well as encourage people to give of their most precious resource - themselves - to make a difference in their local community."

The third component of the program will allow people to share potentially life-saving health information with family and friends by using the information on givehealthahand.org, to help ensure loved ones take their medications, watch for drug interactions and clean out one's medicine cabinet of expired and unneeded medications in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

"The Medco Foundation will help convert crucial information into easy and digestible actions for people to share with relatives and friends, so that they can ask their doctor or other health care provider the right questions," said Silverstein. "Every day, millions of Americans fall through gaps in the health care system. We hope that all Americans will join with us in giving health a hand."

A centerpiece of the iParticipate initiative begins on October 19 when the major broadcast networks and others will spotlight service through scripted programming, segments and public service announcements with inspirational messages and storylines about volunteerism. More than 90 television shows will participate in this groundbreaking event.

About the Medco Foundation

The Medco Foundation was established with the generous support of Medco Health Solutions, Inc. The Foundation focuses on supporting activities aimed at educating and informing the general public about health, wellness and medicine safety issues; providing low income, disadvantaged and other distressed populations and communities with access to medicine and information about medicine; and fostering and promoting opportunities for volunteerism and civic engagement generally. The Medco Foundation is in the process of applying to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) corporation.

For more information, go to http://www.givehealthahand.org/.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: robert_marzulli@medco.com

Source: The Medco Foundation

CONTACT: Jay Silverstein of Medco Foundation, +1-201-269-3490; Derek
Brown of Coyne Public Relations, +1-973-316-1665, or DBrown@coynepr.com, for
Medco Foundation

Web Site: http://www.givehealthahand.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment