AstraZeneca contributes $250,000 to help La Red Health Center build new facility in Sussex County

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) announced today a $250,000 contribution that will help the La Red Health Center build a new 15,000-square-foot facility to provide care to more patients in Sussex County. The announcement was made at a groundbreaking ceremony in Georgetown, DE.

“The La Red Health Center provides an invaluable service to the people of Sussex County by providing high quality health care regardless of patients' ability to pay”

La Red's new facility will have significantly more space for waiting and exam rooms and will offer dental care - a new clinical service.

"The La Red Health Center provides an invaluable service to the people of Sussex County by providing high quality health care regardless of patients' ability to pay," said David Nicoli, AstraZeneca, vice president corporate affairs. "This expansion will help La Red connect more people in the community to much needed care."

La Red provides bilingual, high quality, cost effective, primary and preventive medical care services to 6,500 patients a year. Many of La Red's patients are uninsured or underinsured and would otherwise have difficulty accessing medical care due to financial and other barriers. The new health care facility will allow La Red to serve as both a medical - and dental -- home for more Sussex County residents.

"I couldn't be more thrilled to see La Red Health Center's new ambulatory health care facility's construction underway," Sen. Tom Carper said. "I commend the strong collaboration between private organizations and the local and federal government to support the development of this health care facility. One of the goals of reforming our nation's health care system is to find ways to get better health outcomes for less money. A key tactic of reducing health care costs is to keep people from becoming sick in the first place. La Red's mission focuses on providing high-quality, cost-effective, primary and preventive medical care to Sussex County residents who face barriers to medical care. La Red's new health care facility means more services and space to help keep Delawareans in Sussex County - both insured and uninsured, and from every economic level - healthy and out of the emergency room, lowering costs to our nation's health care system."

AstraZeneca is part of a public-private collaborative effort to support this expansion of health care services in Sussex County. AstraZeneca's partnership with La Red Health Center began in 2007 with the launch of Healthy Delawareans Today & Tomorrow, a public-private coalition aimed at increasing the awareness and availability of free and low-cost healthcare services for uninsured and underinsured Delawareans. AstraZeneca continues to support La Red's patient navigation efforts to help connect people with the services and programs they need.

"This is an exciting time for La Red Health Center as we enter our second decade of providing quality health care to the residents of Sussex County. The new facility will allow La Red to do even more to increase access to quality and affordable ambulatory medical care and serve as a medical home for an increased number of Sussex Countians," said Brian S. Olson, chief executive officer, La Red Health Center. "This effort is being made possible through the collective effort of La Red's many partners. We are particularly appreciative of AstraZeneca's support for the new building as well as their long-time support."

SOURCE AstraZeneca