WARSAW, Ind., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. , a worldwide leader in the orthopaedics industry, announced today it is providing a grant of $35,000 to National Medical Fellowships to support need-based scholarships to underrepresented minority medical school students. National Medical Fellowships (NMF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1946 that is dedicated to improving health care within minority communities by increasing the number of minority physicians and academic researchers in the United States.
“These grants underscore the commitment Zimmer has made to promote diversity in health care providers and to address disparities in health care delivery among various populations,” said Ray Elliott, Zimmer Chairman, President and CEO. “We are pleased to help advance NMF’s mission and hope these funds provide encouragement for talented medical school students to pursue a career in orthopaedics.”
The $35,000 grant, the first to NMF from a major orthopaedic company, will be used to provide 10 scholarships for individuals to be selected by an NMF committee. Zimmer will play no role in the selection process.
“By successfully creating and coordinating a wide range of scholarship and fellowship programs for close to six decades, National Medical Fellowships has built a unique body of expertise in managing higher education initiatives aimed at underrepresented populations,” stated Vivian Fox, President and CEO of the organization. “We are delighted to partner with Zimmer to encourage gifted minority medical students to pursue their goals of becoming orthopaedic surgeons.”
Zimmer’s Minority Initiatives Program provides a number of grants, coordination and other support to efforts in the areas of minority representation in medicine and cultural competence among health care professionals.
About National Medical Fellowships
National Medical Fellowships’ mission is to provide financial support to underrepresented minority medical students, to increase the number of minority physicians in clinical care, research and academic medicine, and to articulate the vital role minority physicians play in eliminating disparities in healthcare and ensuring the well being of our society. Since its inception in 1946, NMF has awarded over $38 million in scholarships, fellowships and awards to more than 24,000 talented and deserving minority medical school students.
About Zimmer
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer is the worldwide #1 pure-play orthopaedic leader in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopaedic surgical products. In October 2003, the Company finalized its acquisition of Centerpulse AG, a Switzerland-based orthopaedics company and the leader in the European reconstructive market. Zimmer has operations in more than 24 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries. Zimmer’s 2004 sales were approximately $3 billion. The Company is supported by the efforts of more than 6,500 employees worldwide.
Visit Zimmer on the worldwide web at http://www.zimmer.com/ Zimmer Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management’s beliefs and assumptions made by management. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “targets,” “forecasts,” and “seeks” or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to successfully integrate Centerpulse AG and Implex Corp., the outcome of the pending informal SEC investigation of Centerpulse accounting, price and product competition, rapid technological development, demographic changes, dependence on new product development, the mix of our products and services, supply and prices of raw materials and products, customer demand for our products and services, control of costs and expenses, our ability to form and implement alliances, international growth, governmental laws and regulations affecting our U.S. and international businesses, including tax obligations and risks, product liability and intellectual property litigation losses, reimbursement levels from third-party payors, general industry and market conditions and growth rates and general domestic and international economic conditions including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the disclosure materials filed by Zimmer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Zimmer disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.
Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
CONTACT: Media: Brad Bishop, +1-574-372-4291,bradley.bishop@zimmer.com , Investors: Marc Ostermann, +1-574-371-8515,marc.ostermann@zimmer.com , or Sam Leno, +1-574-372-4790,sam.leno@zimmer.com , all of Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
Web site: http://www.zimmer.com/