Siemens Achieves Goal of One Million Passes Through The Baton Pass™ Campaign; $1 Million to be Donated to Stand Up To Cancer® to Support Accelerated Research

Today, Siemens reached the millionth pass of the Baton through “The Baton Pass™” – an effort to raise money for innovative cancer research programs and to spread a message of hope and unity. With each pass of the Baton, either physically or virtually through www.facebook.com/TheBatonPass, Siemens is donating one dollar to Stand Up To Cancer®, up to one million dollars. The goal-reaching ‘pass’ took place during an event at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital today.

The Baton Pass was launched on Good Morning America on March 19th by Siemens, one of the world’s leading engineers of medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, and healthcare IT solutions, to raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C). SU2C is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports pioneering cancer research designed to get new therapies to patients quickly. The Baton has traveled thousands of miles across the U.S. and Canada and has been passed through the hands of patients, family members, survivors, doctors, nurses and researchers at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, bringing its emblematic “hope” to everyone who is on the front lines of the fight to save lives.

“We are incredibly proud to have collaborated with Stand Up To Cancer, and as of today, to have reached the goal of ‘The Baton Pass’ campaign,” said Gregory Sorensen, MD, CEO, Siemens Healthcare North America. “Not only has Siemens engaged the general public in generating awareness to fulfill our $1 million pledge to support innovative cancer research programs, but the Baton also symbolizes the progress we’ve made in cancer detection, monitoring, and treatment, and the hope that we all share for continued progress.”

“Stand Up To Cancer is all about collaboration, bringing together the patient, research and entertainment industry to increase awareness and raise funds for innovative research and then bringing together researchers across institutions and disciplines to accelerate research,” stated Lisa Paulsen, SU2C co-founder and president & CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). “The Baton Pass embodies the very spirit of Stand Up To Cancer, engaging everyone from the patients and survivors and their family members, to researchers and clinicians toward a simple but compelling goal. We are so appreciative of Siemens for The Baton Pass campaign which not only generated a donation that will support continued innovative research, but conveyed its essential message of hope that is critical for everyone in the fight to make cancer patients cancer survivors.”

The event at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital was coordinated to bring attention to Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and provided guests with the opportunity to hear directly from the hospital’s leadership team about its commitment to enhancing the quality of life through improved health and programs developed to advance medical and scientific knowledge.

Hospital staff and patients passed the Baton along with representatives from Siemens and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which works closely with SU2C to review proposals for Dream Team funding. Sarah Park, a high school student and cancer survivor, had the honor of accomplishing the millionth pass.

“Penn State Hershey is thrilled to host the culminating event for The Baton Pass,” said Dr. Barbara Ostrov, interim chair of pediatrics, Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. “With the generous support of Siemens, researchers will be able to expand programs to identify new, more targeted treatments that may ultimately cure childhood cancer for so many children just like Sarah Park.”

Photos, B-Roll, and video available: http://inr.synapticdigital.com/siemens/standuptocancer/hershey

Broadcast quality footage from "The Baton Pass™" events across the country is available: http://inr.synapticdigital.com/siemens/standuptocancer/

About The Baton Pass™

The Baton Pass™, benefiting Stand Up To Cancer®, is a campaign designed to raise funds for cancer research at a time when they are critically needed. A symbol of the hope we share that each of those diagnosed with cancer will survive, the Siemens/SU2C Baton kicked off its journey in New York’s Times Square in March and has traveled across the U.S. and Canada highlighting the need for increased funding for cancer research. The Baton has also been passed online to friends and family. Siemens is donating $1 to Stand Up To Cancer for every physical and virtual pass of the Baton, up to $1 million through September 5, 2014. Today’s event brought Siemens to its goal, and the company is fulfilling its pledge to donate $1 million to Stand Up To Cancer. Details can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheBatonPass.

About Siemens

Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure & cities sectors. Siemens in the USA employs approximately 52,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, healthcare information technology and hearing aids. Siemens has long believed that imaging technology plays a key role in advancing cancer research. We have seen firsthand the power of an early and accurate diagnosis. Our diagnostic technologies have made it possible to detect cancer in some of its earliest and most treatable stages, sometimes before a patient even experiences symptoms.

About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about progress being made in the fight against the disease. As SU2C’s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.

About Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital

Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia fully equipped to treat the most severely ill children of central Pennsylvania, with both the highest level neonatal intensive care unit and a Level I pediatric trauma center. Our physicians and nurses provide comprehensive support and specialized care to infants, children, and adolescents every day. With a focus on providing first-rate health care to all children, from those with complex heart disease to childhood cancers, the Children’s Hospital allows patients to receive the full spectrum of highest quality care close to their homes.