Medtronic Inc. Corporate Giving

Immigrants to Twin Cities Welcomed to Good Health in Partnership Between Medtronic Foundation and the Center for International Health

Like many American cities, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, in recent years have welcomed thousands of immigrants from Latin America, Southeast Asia, East Africa and Eastern Europe.

To help the community's newest residents obtain necessary medical attention, The Center for International Health at Regions Hospital in St. Paul helps them navigate the health care system and receive treatment in a manner that respects their individual cultural heritage. The Medtronic Foundation has supported the Center for International Health for almost 10 years with more than $960,000 in grants to remove cultural and language barriers to health care in for these communities.

In addition to the grant at Regions, the Medtronic Foundation provides funds for culturally competent providers in health care and social services and education materials in numerous languages. This includes the services of Somali and Oromo interpreters in clinical settings for immigrants from East Africa, and health education programs in facilities that serve immigrant communities.

Keeping Physicians Alerted to Updated Medical Reference Information, Remotely

The Medtronic Foundation has supported World Internet Resources for Education and Development (WiRED International) to help establish medical information centers for physicians, medical students, faculty and the general public.

WiRED, of Montara, CA, provides medical and health care information, education and communications to developing nations and war-affected regions worldwide. The Medtronic Foundation has worked with WiRED to supply workstations and computer equipment for medical information centers in Bosnia and Croatia and established a telemedicine center in Iraq to replace outdated medical reference books and text books used by physicians.

Computers installed at the largest medical information center at Medical City Center in Baghdad provide physicians with access to important information they can't get elsewhere, and permit them to communicate with their counterparts at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the University of California-San Francisco Medical School, and San Francisco State University College of Nursing.

Medtronic Foundation recently made a grant to fund five medical information centers and telemedicine programs in Serbia and Kosovo. To date, the Medtronic Foundation has made six grants totaling $248,000.

Learn more about the corporate giving projects of Medtronic Inc. and the Medtronic Foundation at http://www.medtronic.com/foundation .