News & Events
Becton Dickinson Supports Operation Smile's "World Journey of Hope '99"
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Company donates critical medical supplies to humanitarian effort
Contact: Bette Scott Becton Dickinson (201) 847-6651 New York, NY USA (February 04, 1999) -- Becton Dickinson, one of the world’s largest medical technology companies, is proud to support Operation Smile’s “World Journey of Hope ’99” by donating surgical and other medical supplies. Operation Smile, a leading medical relief and humanitarian organization, in cooperation with the “The Flying Hospital Inc.”, will launch “World Journey of Hope ‘99” in February. Over the course of nine weeks, volunteer medical teams will visit 18 countries including the United States, and conduct approximately 5,000 reconstructive surgeries to correct cleft lips, palates and other facial deformities on children and young adults throughout the world.
“Supporting this journey is one way we continue our strong tradition of commitment to meeting the health and medical needs of communities around the world”, said Clateo Castellini, president, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Becton Dickinson. Last year the company provided $3.8 million to support charitable causes and over $2 million in significant product donations to disaster and relief agencies in the U.S. and overseas.
During the course of the nine-week mission, donated Becton Dickinson products will be used in thousands of surgeries to take place in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America. Many of Operation Smile’s hosting hospitals cannot afford the products needed to support the 150 weekly surgeries planned for “World Journey of Hope ‘99”. Becton Dickinson’s product donations (collectors for safe disposal of biomedical waste, surgical scrubs and blades, catheters, syringes and bandages) provide the means to serve far more patients. Also, they ensure volunteer medical teams have at hand many surgical supplies not readily available in remote locations. “Support from companies like Becton Dickinson helps us to provide the treatment children around the world need and deserve,” said Dr. William P. Magee, Jr., co-founder of Operation Smile. The current Becton Dickinson product donation will do more than help keep patients hydrated, conditions sterile and skin grafts protected, it will also enable Operation Smile to extend its outreach by reducing direct mission costs by approximately $500,000.
Since its inception, Operation Smile has performed free surgeries to transform the facial deformities and lives of more than 45,000 children in 18 developing countries and the United States. For over a decade, Becton Dickinson has supported the work of Operation Smile and its dedicated volunteers. “Operation Smile’s initiative”, said Castellini, “mirrors our own mission to help all people live healthy lives.”
Among the Becton Dickinson products donated to Operation Smile are:
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