DEERFIELD, Ill. - Baxter Healthcare Corporation, through its charitable foundation, is donating $1 million toward relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast of the United States. The Baxter International Foundation also will be matching qualifying contributions by Baxter employees on a 2 to 1 basis to aid victims of the disaster.

"Consistent with our tradition of providing support in similar circumstances around the world, we will be working with our customers, as well as appropriate government and relief agencies, to try to alleviate some of the suffering and hardship caused by this horrible disaster," said Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer.

Baxter has been assessing the needs of its customers, relief agencies and health authorities in the affected region and working to get them necessary supplies. The company has been in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Homeland Security, state departments of health, AmeriCares, and the American Red Cross to determine additional need for Baxter products.

Baxter also has been working directly with the Mississippi Department of Health to coordinate the delivery to hurricane victims of Baxter products donated by the company's manufacturing plant in Cleveland, Mississippi, and other Baxter facilities throughout the country. Baxter's Cleveland plant, which employs approximately 800 people, was unaffected by the hurricane. Baxter employees in Cleveland and elsewhere also have donated food, clothing and other supplies to the relief effort, to be distributed to shelters throughout the Cleveland area.

In addition, as the largest provider of home dialysis products and services to people with end-stage kidney disease, Baxter is working to establish contact with approximately 300 in-home peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients in affected areas. Due to its extensive infrastructure of PD products and services, Baxter has been able to ensure uninterrupted therapy for many home patients displaced by the hurricane by setting up emergency shipments of supplies to alternate delivery locations for such patients.

Baxter will continue to work with appropriate agencies to monitor conditions and assess the need for additional measures and support.

Baxter Healthcare Corporation is the principal U.S. operating subsidiary of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX). Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, assists healthcare professionals and their patients with the treatment of complex medical conditions, including cancer, hemophilia, immune disorders, kidney disease and trauma. The company applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to make a meaningful difference in patients' lives.

Baxter International Inc.

Baxter International Inc.

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