GE Expands Developing Health Globally Program to Cambodia

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Business Wire 2009

2009-05-07

GE announced today that it was expanding its Developing Health Globally TM program to include six sites in Cambodia. In addition, GE announced that the program is donating GE Healthcare ultrasound equipment, mobile X-rays and patient monitors to Cambodia’s Ministry of Health, for distribution to 23 public health facilities throughout the country. The Developing Health Globally corporate citizenship program is aimed at improving access to quality healthcare by addressing critical gaps in existing developing-world healthcare facilities by providing products and expertise.

Kampong Speu and Phnom Penh Municipal Regional Hospitals and Kossamak National Hospital in Cambodia will be completed first, with commissioning expected to occur late this summer. Each commissioning marks the completion of the product installation and training and provides each hospital the opportunity to share the news of the upgraded facility to the community.

In addition, the 23 sites to receive products, determined by the Ministry of Health in Cambodia, will have proper training for the people using the donated products. Each site will also have a GE employee ambassador assigned from the GE Asia Pacific American Forum (GE’s Asian-America employee networking association) to ensure that improvements are sustained.

“This is a great opportunity for the Developing Health Globally program to provide access to healthcare in a new region – Southeast Asia, through GE businesses’ expertise and products,” said Bob Corcoran, vice president of corporate citizenship at GE Corporation. “This is a tremendous example of how GE is using its knowledge and leadership to tackle a large issue – the delivery of healthcare globally.”


The Developing Health Globally program is also commissioning its last two hospitals in Honduras. Last year, GE announced the program’s expansion from tow to six sites in Honduras, including these last two sites in San Lorenzo and Santa Barbara. GE partnered with the Honduran Ministry of Health to complete these sites, impacting more than 100,000 people. Each site has a GE employee ambassador assigned from the GE Hispanic Forum (GE’s Hispanic American employee networking association) to ensure that improvements are sustained.

GE tackled San Lorenzo’s power and lighting challenges as well as its lack of maternity and delivery equipment by donating significant electrical upgrades, 100 lamps and fixtures, incubators, infant warming systems, fetal monitors, color ultrasound machines and other equipment.

In Santa Barbara, GE configured a solution to provide an uninterrupted power supply to remedy power outages multiple times a week and donated equipment focused on mother-infant care.

GE leaders attending the commissioning include Bob Corcoran, vice president of corporate citizenship, Mark L. Vachon, president & CEO Americas, GE Healthcare, Juan Corsillo, senior vice president and commercial leader for Commercial Finance, and Alfredo Arguello, general manager of sales. In addition to attendees from GE, leaders from the Honduran Ministry of Health will be in attendance.

The GE Developing Health Globally program directly impacts 4.8 million people globally through its $40 million commitment in 14 countries throughout Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. In addition, the GE Foundation has made $8 million in grants to support girls’ education, equipment training and health workers skill-building in many of these areas. The program offers solutions comprised of products form GE Water, Energy, Healthcare and Consumer and Industrial businesses.