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Cardinal Health and its employees further strengthen community support by donating an additional $2.6 million to non-profit organizations through its annual giving campaign

DUBLIN, Ohio, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Cardinal Health Foundation today announced it has awarded more than $1.2 million to non-profit programs that seek to improve health care and wellness in six U.S. cities where Cardinal Health has the highest concentration of employees.

Over the past two years, Cardinal Health has focused its philanthropic efforts on three pillars: 1) enhancing health care effectiveness; 2) building healthy and vibrant communities; and 3) connecting the company's employees to their communities. On a national level, this new strategic focus led to the launch of the Cardinal Health Foundation's $1 million, annual Patient Safety Grant Program, which is now celebrating its second year.

On a regional level, this new focus led to the Foundation's $1.5 million support for Solutions for Patient Safety, a statewide collaborative effort between the business community and 24 hospitals to improve health care quality in Ohio.

At the local level, this new focus helped shape the criteria used to award grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to nearly 50 non-profit organizations in Albuquerque, N.M.; central Ohio; Little Rock, Ark.; Northern Chicago; Radcliff, Ky. and San Diego - the six U.S. cities where Cardinal Health has the highest concentration of employees. Through its Building Healthy Communities Program, the Cardinal Health Foundation gave special consideration to local requests for non-profit funding that:

• Promote active, healthy lifestyles for children, families and the elderly;
• Support health literacy, patient education and engagement; and
• Prevent the abuse and misuse of prescription medications.

Community partnerships, collaborative efforts and programs guided by evidence-based research related to children, families and the elderly were also encouraged.

Cardinal Health and its employees also donated more than $2.6 million to hundreds of additional local non-profit organizations through the company's annual giving campaign. Employees directly contributed $1.6 million, and nearly $1 million was contributed by Cardinal Health, through matching employee donations to health care- and education-related causes at 100 percent and to all other 501(c)(3) organizations at 50 percent.

"Our Building Healthy Communities grants are an important part of Cardinal Health's commitment to improving health and wellness in the communities where our employees live and work; and our annual giving campaign is a great way for employees to amplify their philanthropic giving," said Shelley Bird, executive vice president of public affairs for Cardinal Health and chairperson of the Cardinal Health Foundation. "We're proud of the positive impact both initiatives have on our communities, and we're grateful to our employees and to our non-profit partners for their commitment to giving back."

The Cardinal Health Foundation awarded 2009 Building Healthy Communities grants to the following organizations and programs:

Albuquerque, N.M.

• All Faiths Receiving Home's La Solana del Valle Day Care Child Wellness Clinic
• Dismas House New Mexico's Life by Design Program
• New Mexico AIDS Services' Meals and Meds Program
• New Mexico Health Care Takes on Diabetes' Get Up and Get Moving Program
• PB&J Family Services' School-Based Health Center
• Special Olympics New Mexico's Healthy Athletes Initiative

Central Ohio

• American Heart Association's Columbus Goes Red campaign
• Access HealthColumbus' Electronic Health Record Initiative
• Alzheimer's Association's Caregiver Support Program
• Amethyst's Nurse Practitioner Health Literacy Program
• Asian-American Community Services' Here for Health Program
• Central Ohio Diabetes Association's La Vida es Dulce: Hispanic Outreach, Detection and Education Program
• Columbus Council on World Affairs' Global Health Community Conversations health education program
• Columbus Medical Association Physician's Free Clinic's Medical Interpretive Services Initiative
• Communities in Schools' Fun Family Fitness Program
• COSI's Little KidSpace(R) exhibit in partnership with OSU College of Pharmacy
• Franklin Park Conservatory's Growing to Green Nutrition Education Program
• Goodwill Columbus' My Life, My Health patient engagement program
• King Arts' Complex, Mind, Body and Soul health education program
• LifeCare Alliance's Visiting Pharmacist Program
• March of Dimes' Preemie Parent Support Program
• MidOhio FoodBank's Campaign to Sustain (capital campaign)
• National Alliance for Mentally Ill's Family to Family Health Literacy Program
• Nationwide Children's Hospital's School Nurse, Family and Pediatrician Program
• Ohio Association of Free Clinics' Health Literacy Initiative
• Wexner Center for the Arts' Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Video Competition for Teens
• YMCA's Obesity Intervention Project

Little Rock, Ark.

• Arkansas Rice Depot's Food For Kids Program
• Arkansas Special Olympics
• Hearts & Hooves Healthy Kids by Healthy Horses Program
• Make-A-Wish Foundation's Wish Sponsor program
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas' Care Mobile

Northern Chicago

• American Cancer Society's Patient Navigation Services
• Boys and Girls Club of Lake County's Triple Play Wellness Program
• Chicago Youth Program's Afterschool Health Clinic
• Childserv's Healthy Fit Preventive Health Program
• City of Miracles Association's Back to School Festival and Healthcare Awareness programs
• Family Shelter Service's Health Care Advocacy Program
• Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association's Healthy & Active Lifestyles for Impaired Youth Program
• HealthReach, Inc's Chronic Disease Management and Health Education Program
• Northern Illinois FoodBank's Senior Food Box Program
• Omni Youth Services' Northern Chicago Counseling Program
• Rush-Copley Foundation's Platicas para Mujeres (Latina Talks) Program
• YWCA Lake County's Adolescent Girls Health Program

Radcliff, Ky.

• American Cancer Society - Louisville Chapter's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
• America's Second Harvest of Kentucky's Heartland's Back Pack Program
• March of Dimes Foundation's Radcliff Campaign for Healthier Babies
• USA Cares Food Card Distribution Program

San Diego

• American Heart Association's Start! Wellness Program
• La Maestra Family Clinic's Healthy Choices Program
• Parkinson's Disease Association of San Diego's In-Home Care Program
• Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego's Preventative Care Program for Hematology/Oncology Patients

About the Cardinal Health Foundation

The Cardinal Health Foundation supports local, national and international programs that improve health care quality and build healthy communities. The Cardinal Health Foundation also offers grants to encourage employee service to the community and works through international agencies to donate much-needed medical supplies and funding to those who need them in times of disaster. To learn more, visit www.CardinalHealth.com/community.