WARSAW, Ind., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH; SIX: ZMH) today announced that OMeGA Medical Grants Association (OMeGA), an independent, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation has chosen its 2010 grant recipients. OMeGA is the third-party administrator for orthopaedic graduate medical education grants to which Zimmer committed $2 million in funding for orthopaedic graduate medical education for the 2009-2010 academic year and $2.175 million for the 2010-2011 academic year.
For the 2010-2011 academic year, OMeGA received 218 applications for its fellowship and residency grants and will fund 48 fellowship grants up to $75,000 each, representing 30 percent of fellowship programs requesting grants through OMeGA. Fellowship grants were allocated in all sub-specialty categories: Adult Reconstruction; Foot and Ankle; Hand Surgery; Oncology; Pediatrics; Shoulder and Elbow; Spine; Sports Medicine; and Trauma. In an effort to further facilitate the education of orthopaedic fellows, OMeGA will be accelerating its review and notification process for the next two grant cycles, assuring that programs will receive notice at least one year in advance to align with sub-specialty match timelines.
OMeGA will fund 22 residency programs up to $5,000 each at both academic institutions and community hospitals. In addition, OMeGA introduced a new grant category in September 2010 to encourage orthopaedic innovation in general education. The focus was on the six ACGME core competencies, and grants between $10,000 and $20,000 will be awarded. More information is available at www.omegamedicalgrants.org.
“Zimmer is committed to supporting excellence in orthopaedic education,” said David Dvorak, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zimmer Holdings. “Through our continued support of OMeGA we assist aspiring surgeons in their research and academic pursuits.”
Grant recipients and allocations are determined by independent OMeGA board and review committees composed of sub-specialty experts. These orthopaedic surgeons evaluate education programs based on objective criteria including the goals and objectives of a program, accreditation status, ratio of faculty to fellows, quality of resources and facilities and recent published papers by fellows.
In November 2008, Zimmer became the founding supporter of OMeGA, an independent organization created by the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA). The OMeGA board and review committee members are free from conflicts of interest: they do not have financial interest in any orthopaedic medical device manufacturer (for the previous two years) nor leadership roles (i.e. financial decision-making) in orthopaedic fellowship or residency programs and educational institutions.
“OMeGA is the only completely independent organization allocating grants in the orthopaedic community,” said C. McCollister Evarts, M.D., President of OMeGA Medical Grants Association. “Zimmer’s support has been instrumental to OMeGA and we thank them for again providing generous funds to further orthopaedic graduate medical education.”
The next grant application cycle commences on October 20, 2010. More information on available grants and OMeGA’s selection process is available at www.omegamedicalgrants.org.
About the Company
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer designs, develops, manufactures and markets orthopaedic reconstructive, spinal and trauma devices, dental implants, and related surgical products. Zimmer has operations in more than 25 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries. Zimmer’s 2009 sales were approximately $4.1 billion. The Company is supported by the efforts of more than 8,000 employees worldwide.
About OMeGA Medical Grants Association
OMeGA Medical Grants Association is an independent, not-for-profit organization established in 2008. OMeGA awards and manages grants for orthopaedic graduate medical education (GME) through a consistent, accessible process designed to safeguard against potential conflicts of interest and ensure transparency in the allocation of resources. Visit www.omegamedicalgrants.org or e-mail info@omegamedicalgrants.org for more information.
Website Information
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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,” “assumes,” “guides,” “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 compliance with the Corporate Integrity Agreement through 2012; the success of our quality initiatives; the outcome of the investigation by the U.S. government into Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters announced in October 2007; price and product competition; changes in customer demand for our products and services caused by demographic changes or other factors; dependence on new product development, technological advances and innovation; shifts in the product category or regional sales mix of our products and services; supply and prices of raw materials and products; control of costs and expenses; our ability to obtain and maintain adequate intellectual property protection; our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses; our ability to form and implement alliances; challenges relating to changes in and compliance with governmental laws and regulations affecting our U.S. and international businesses, including regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and foreign government regulators and tax obligations and risks; product liability and intellectual property litigation losses; health care reform measures in the U.S. including the impact of the new excise tax on medical devices, reductions in reimbursement levels from third-party payors and cost-containment efforts of health care purchasing organizations; our ability to retain the independent agents and distributors who market our products; changes in general industry and market conditions, including domestic and international growth rates and general domestic and international economic conditions, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the costs of defending or resolving putative class action litigation arising out of trading or ownership of our stock. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be set forth in our periodic reports. 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.
SOURCE Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
