October 22, 2003
NEW YORK, New York - October 22, 2003 - Adrenaline has been building up in anticipation of the 33rd annual ING New York City Marathon. Aranesp Team Continuum's 52 team members are all geared up and ready to run, walk and cheer each other on at the event on Sunday, November 2. The special team, which is comprised of cancer survivors as well as doctors and nurses from Manhattan's St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, will stand out across the five boroughs thanks to their bright orange and blue Team Continuum uniforms.
Under the leadership of advertising executive Paul Nicholls, Aranesp Team Continuum is raising $500,000 for Continuum Health Partners, Inc. to support cancer research and patient care services. Continuum is the parent company of Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center and the Long Island College Hospital and operates several cancer centers throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Amgen, the maker of Aranesp , a treatment for anemia, is the Team's title sponsor. New Balance Athletic Shoe has signed on as the official footwear and apparel provider for Team Continuum. Boston-based New Balance has fully outfitted the Team free of charge, supplying them with 52 pairs of running shoes, including the popular, high-performance M/W1221, M/W855 and M2001 models, as well as 52 sets of Airtek Tees (MTS1963) and Moto Solid Split Shorts (MRS1316).
"Running the New York City Marathon had been a dream that I feared would not be fulfilled," said Nicholls, who was training for last year's marathon when his cancer was discovered. "Thanks to the great care provided by my doctors, nurses and other caregivers, my cancer has responded well to treatment, which has made running this year a reality."
"New Balance stands for personal achievement even in the face of the most challenging odds," said Amy Vreeland, New Balance's public relations manager. "We are thrilled to support Team Continuum as they take to the Streets of New York City this November."
Participating in the fall classic alongside Nicholls are members of his treatment team at St. Luke's-Roosevelt, namely: Fernando Adriano, RN; Alton Baron, MD; Louis Catalano, MD; Candace Schiffer, NP; Joan Sorich, RN; and Ludmila Svoboda, RN.
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., headquartered in Boston, MA, is a leading manufacturer of technologically innovative width-sized footwear and athletic apparel for women, men, and children. The range of product categories includes running, walking, cross training, basketball, tennis, adventure sports, and kids. Hiking and work boots, sandals, boat shoes, and rugged casuals are also available through Dunham, a New Balance performance brand. Dunham joined the New Balance family in Fall 1998. New Balance also acquired the rights to PF Flyers, an active-casual lifestyle brand in February 2000. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. employs more than 2,400 people around the globe, and in 2002 reported worldwide sales of $1.3 billion. For more information please visit http://www.newbalance.com.
About Continuum Health Partners, Inc.
Continuum Health Partners, Inc., was formed in January 1997, as a partnership of two venerable health care providers, Beth Israel Medical Center and St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Building upon the strengths of both institutions, the partners soon established a broad-based, integrated health services network extending throughout the New York metropolitan region. In May 1998, the partnership was joined by a third distinguished institution, Long Island College Hospital, located in the Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. Continuum continued to grow in June 1999 with the addition of another outstanding institution with a 100-year tradition of excellent specialty care, the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Continuum Health Partners, Inc., with an annual operating budget of $1.7 billion, delivers inpatient care through nearly 3,100 certified beds located in seven major hospital facilities in Manhattan and Brooklyn. These include Beth Israel's three hospitals: the Milton and Carroll Petrie Division on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the Herbert and Nell Singer Division on Manhattan's Upper East Side, and Beth Israel's Kings Highway Division in the Midwood section of Brooklyn; The Roosevelt Division in midtown Manhattan and the St. Luke's Division in Manhattan's Morningside Heights community; Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn; and the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, also located on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Continuum providers also see patients in group and private practice settings and ambulatory centers in the five boroughs of New York and Westchester County.
All four Continuum partner institutions were established more than a century ago by civic-minded individuals with a shared commitment to improving health, and health care, in their communities. Today, participation in the Continuum partnership enables each member institution to better fulfill its traditional mission by making available an impressive array of resources for the provision of state-of-the-art and compassionate care. Together, we are superbly equipped to identify and respond to the health-related needs of the populations we serve, in a patient-and physician-friendly environment.
