4.23.2002 ET

(CSRwire) CHICAGO, Illinois - Baxter Healthcare Corporation was recognized with Family Support America's Kathleen McDonald Memorial Work and Family Award at an awards luncheon held today during the organization's national conference in Rosemont, Ill. The award honors organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to achieve outstanding results while simultaneously addressing employee and organizational needs.
A Family Support At Work Leadership Roundtable committee selected Baxter as the winner in the for-profit over 5,000 employees category for its efforts to integrate the principles of family support at work through human resource policies and practices and community outreach. "Baxter is proof that progressive work-family policies are the foundation of a healthy business," said Bette Carlson, senior vice president, Family Support At Work. "They recognize that strengthening families and building strong communities create a stable marketplace and a thriving economy."

Baxter dedicated a corporate department to develop and lead work and life initiatives for the company more than 10 years ago. Since then, the company's work/life initiatives have evolved, and last year earned the company a place in the PBS documentary, Juggling Work and Family. "We are honored to be recognized by Family Support America with the Kathleen McDonald Memorial Work and Family Award," said Alice Campbell, director of Baxter's work/life initiatives and community relations. "This supports our belief that an investment in work/life balance is an investment in the productivity of the company."

Baxter's work/life initiatives include an Alternate Work Arrangement Proposal Kit and a Work/Life in the Workplace guidebook. Baxter supports alternate work arrangements and flexibility as a way to help team members' balance their personal and work responsibilities. The proposal kit assists employees and managers in reviewing the steps required for proposing and reviewing requests for flexibility within the scope of an existing position.

Baxter's recently launched Work/Life in the Workplace guidebook encourages dialogue and equal involvement by managers and employees in achieving a healthy balance between work and personal needs. It describes some of the root causes of work/life conflicts and offers suggestions for collaborative solutions, working on the premise that work/life balance is a shared responsibility between managers and employees.

Baxter's work/life initiatives also include access to back-up dependent care in certain locations, a resource and referral network, and adoption assistance among other work/life benefits. The company was a 1999 Catalyst Award recipient for exemplary initiatives to advance women into leadership, in which it was lauded for its work life programs.

Family Support America, formerly Family Resource Coalition of America, promotes family support as a nationally recognized movement to strengthen and support families and places the principles of family support practice at the heart of every setting in which children and families are present. By identifying and connecting individuals and organizations that have contact with families, by providing technical assistance, training and education, conferences, and publications, and by promoting the voice of families, Family Support America is taking family support to scale as the national strategy for ensuring the well-being of children today and in the years to come. Baxter Healthcare Corporation is the principal domestic operating subsidiary of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), a global health-care company that, through its subsidiaries, provides critical therapies for people with life-threatening conditions. Baxter's bioscience, medication delivery and renal products and services are used to treat patients with some of the most challenging medical conditions including cancer, hemophilia, immune deficiencies, infectious diseases, kidney disease, and trauma.

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