MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, MedQuist Inc. , with nearly 10,000 people spread across the United States, announced the immediate actions that the company took in response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, including aid from the company to its people in the areas hardest hit by the hurricane. The Company’s first priority in the days after the storm was to identify the MedQuist employees and statutory workers who were in Katrina’s path, determine their status and set aside funds to provide financial assistance to those who lost their homes. “We have been concentrating first on finding our people - many of whom work from home - to provide them with personal financial assistance if they have lost their home, and, if necessary, with new computers to help them return to work from wherever they are staying,” says Frank W. Lavelle, MedQuist’s president. Company employees and statutory workers who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina are encouraged to contact MedQuist’s toll-free technical support line, 1-800-DICTATE.
“We’re encouraging everyone in the MedQuist family who has been affected by Katrina to call in, even if they have already been in touch with someone from the company,” says Lavelle. “And we want them to keep us updated on their location if they move again in the next few weeks.” In addition, MedQuist’s clients who need any kind of assistance due to damage from Katrina should call MedQuist’s toll-free technical support line for clients, 1-888-DICTATE. “Ensuring that our clients have the ability to continue to provide medical care is of the highest priority to everyone at MedQuist,” adds Lavelle.
In addition to providing personal financial assistance to MedQuist’s employees and statutory workers who have lost their homes to the storm, MedQuist has also made a donation of $20,000 to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. The company is committed to matching the donations of its employees and statutory workers as well, up to an additional $30,000.
“Since the storm, MedQuist people have been calling and asking what they can do to help,” says Lavelle. “They have offered everything from places for people to stay to giving some of their paid time off to our employees who are out of work because of Katrina.” In response to that generosity, MedQuist has set up a “bank” for paid time off hours so that employees can donate time that will be used for other employees who have been victims of the storm. “The outpouring of offers doesn’t surprise me a bit,” adds Lavelle. “We are fortunate at MedQuist that we have such wonderful caring people affiliated with the company who have been looking for ways to help each other and others in the region affected by Hurricane Katrina.”
MedQuist, a member of the Philips Group of Companies, is a leading provider of electronic medical transcription, health information and document management products and services. MedQuist provides document workflow management, digital dictation, speech recognition, mobile dictation devices, Web-based transcription, electronic signature, medical coding products and outsourcing services.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding MedQuist’s business which are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward- looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report or Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2002.
MedQuist Inc.
CONTACT: Leeann Essai, Director, Marketing Communications of MedQuist,+1-856-206-4700, or lessai@medquist.com
Web site: http://www.medquist.com/
