Drumroll, Please: Medline Industries, Inc. Announces The Winner Of The 2015 Pink Glove Dance Competition

Nearly 60 teams across the U.S. and Canada mobilized to create dance videos for breast cancer awareness

MUNDELEIN, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This year, more than 68,000 physicians, administrators, nurses, breast cancer survivors and community members dressed in pink exam gloves to create dance videos for breast cancer awareness. It was all part of the fifth annual Medline Pink Glove Dance Competition – the only breast cancer awareness campaign to unite thousands of healthcare professionals, patients, survivors and communities all through the joy of dancing.

“Our marketing team approached me about the Pink Glove Dance Competition to raise awareness for breast cancer. At the time, I was barely through with surgeries, chemo and radiation and didn’t feel very much like a survivor”

The votes are in and Medline is excited to announce this year’s grand prize winner, Infirmary Health. Receiving more than 20 percent of the total votes, the largest non-governmental not-for-profit healthcare system in Alabama has won a $15,000 donation from Medline to the mid-south division of the American Cancer Society. Furthermore, through fundraising efforts, Infirmary Health raised an additional $43,000 for their breast cancer charity of choice.

“Winning the Medline Pink Glove Dance Competition is a remarkable accomplishment for our organization. We treat breast cancer patients every day at Infirmary Health, so our participation in this contest is very personal to us. In fact, many of the survivors featured in our video are employees and members of our Infirmary Health family,” said Mark Nix, president and CEO of Infirmary Health. “We are honored to have received such an outpouring of support of our team’s video from local, state, national and even international friends who voted for us.”

Pink Glove Dance teams throughout U.S. and Canada are required to create 90-second videos and raise a minimum of $2,000 for a breast cancer charity of their choice. Nearly 60 teams participated in creating dance videos this year. Through online, public voting, nine winners have been selected throughout three categories – large-bed, small-bed and non-healthcare. In addition to winning the grand prize title, Infirmary Health won first place in the large-bed category. The following are this year’s runners-up who also received donations to a breast cancer charity of their choice. First place in each category received a $10,000 donation, second place received a $5,000 donation, and third place received a $2,500 donation.

• Chino Valley Medical Center (first place, small-bed) – $10,000 donation to the American Cancer Society.
• Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital Foundation (first place, non-healthcare) – $10,000 donation to the Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital.
• Baptist Health Paducah (second place, large-bed category) – $5,000 donation to the American Cancer Society.
• University Medical Center of Princeton (second place, small-bed category) – $5,000 donation to the Breast Cancer Resource Center at YWCA of Princeton, N.J.
• Baptist Health Montgomery (second place, non-healthcare) – $5,000 donation to the Cancer Wellness Foundation of Central Alabama.
• LewisGale Regional Health System (third place, large-bed) – $2,500 donation to Virginia Blue Ridge Affiliate of Susan G. Komen.
• Pocono Medical Center (third place, small-bed) – $2,500 donation to the Pocono Health Foundation.
• Sonoma West Medical Foundation (third place, non-healthcare) – $2,500 donation to Bay Area Young Survivors.

“Some walk for breast cancer awareness. Others run. We dance while wearing pink gloves. The Pink Glove Dance competition provides communities with an organized event that supports everyone who’s been touched by breast cancer,” said Sue MacInnes, co-creator of the Pink Glove Dance Competition and chief market solutions officer at Medline. “The participation from thousands of dancers over the years has helped us make a significant impact in providing breast cancer related charities with the essential resources they need to carry out education and prevention initiatives.”

Infirmary Health’s winning video represents a breast cancer patient’s journey, from entering the hospital, receiving a diagnosis, undergoing treatment to ringing the bell and entering remission. As they leave the hospital in the video, they throw back pom-poms to those that have inspired and cheered them on along the way.

For Terri Hudson and Maureen Chatham, members of Infirmary Health’s staff, the competition holds a very personal meaning. For both of them, the American Cancer Society has been instrumental in their journeys with breast cancer. When Maureen began experiencing hair loss after her third chemotherapy treatment, the American Cancer Society boosted her confidence by providing hats, scarves and showed her how to make the scarves look like her long hair.

“Our marketing team approached me about the Pink Glove Dance Competition to raise awareness for breast cancer. At the time, I was barely through with surgeries, chemo and radiation and didn’t feel very much like a survivor,” said Hudson. “I could never have imagined the change that would happen to me because of our dance video. The support received from so many staff members who had just worked a long shift was amazing. It was moving to look out into that crowd of my Infirmary Health family and see my colleagues dancing and singing to support breast cancer awareness. It was one of the first times I felt like I could have a life after cancer.”

Visit www.pinkglovedance.com to view this year’s winning videos.

About Medline’s Pink Glove Dance Campaign

Back in 2009, Medline Industries, Inc. turned everyday exam gloves from blue to help create a comfortable, friendly and open dialogue about breast cancer between nurses and patients. This same year, Medline created the original Pink Glove Dance video with hospital workers at a Portland, Ore. hospital. A few years later, Medline launched the Pink Glove Dance video competition, which has brought together nearly 200,000 healthcare professionals, patients, survivors and communities to celebrate hope for a cure and honor all who have been affected by the disease – all through the joy of dancing. The Medline Pink Glove Dance competition has inspired nearly 1,000 dance videos and raised more than $1 million for breast cancer charities nationwide. In addition, Medline has donated $1.6 million to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) in support of its mission to save lives through early detection and offering free mammograms for women in need.

About Medline

Medline is a global manufacturer and distributor serving the healthcare industry with medical supplies and clinical solutions that help customers achieve both clinical and financial success. Headquartered in Mundelein, Ill., the company offers 350,000+ medical devices and support services through more than 1,200 direct sales representatives who are dedicated points of contact for customers across the continuum of care. For more information on Medline, go to www.medline.com or http://www.medline.com/social-media to connect with Medline on its social media channels.