PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Regence Group and its employees are banding together to support tsunami relief efforts through contributions to Northwest Medical Teams, a humanitarian aid organization that is sending teams of doctors and nurses to the areas devastated by the December 26 tragedy.
The devastation from the tsunami is creating a second disaster -- the loss of lives as a result of disease and lack of medical care and supplies. To support relief efforts, Regence is matching employee and retiree contributions to Northwest Medical Teams dollar for dollar. So far, combined efforts have yielded nearly $100,000.
“We serve a community of three million members in the northwest and intermountain states, but we’re also part of a larger world. It’s within that spirit of helping those in need -- no matter where they are -- that our employees have made an immediate and tremendous contribution to this effort. I couldn’t be more proud of our employees for their generosity,” said Mark Ganz, president and chief executive officer of The Regence Group.
Regence employees have also volunteered to help Northwest Medical Teams prepare donations for transportation to Southeast Asia. The company’s pharmacy team has offered to help sort and package medications that Northwest Medical Teams receives in bulk, so the medications can be quickly and easily dispensed upon arrival.
About Regence
Created in 1996, The Regence Group is the largest affiliation of health care plans in the Pacific Northwest/Mountain State region. It includes Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield (in Washington). Through these plans, Regence provides health, life, vision, dental and long-term care insurance to nearly three million members. The Regence Group and its affiliate plans are not-for-profit, independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. More than one in three Americans have coverage from the Blues. For more information, visit http://www.regence.com/.
The Regence Group
CONTACT: Angela Hult of The Regence Group, +1-503-412-7902, oraehult@regence.com
Web site: http://www.regence.com/