IMMEDIATE
                                                                                           Contact: Tedra White
                                                                                           Office: 419.469.3716
                                                                                           Pager: 419.321-0741
                                                                                           Web site: www.promedica.org

PROMEDICA PARTNERS WITH TOLEDO FARMERS’ MARKET TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND NUTRITION OF LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS

TOLEDO, Ohio, Aug. 7, 2008 – ProMedica Health System (PHS) has partnered with Toledo Farmers’ Market to give Northwest Ohio residents a new incentive to eat healthy. PHS provided a grant that will double the dollars for food stamp program recipients who spend up to $12 at Toledo Farmers’ Market using an Ohio Direction Card. Until the grant money is spent, card holders are eligible for this benefit for the purchase of fresh vegetables, fruits, baked goods, eggs, poultry and beef.

"As food prices continue to rise, we want healthy, nutritious food to be accessible," says Alan W. Brass, PHS chief executive officer. "This is just one of several ways that ProMedica is reaching out to the communities we serve to help improve the health and well-being of its residents."

Also this year, PHS will launch a new system-wide initiative called Fields of Green to help combat obesity and encourage healthier eating. Fields of Green will offer a variety of education, health and nutrition PHS programs throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.

For more information about Fields of Green and other PHS community programs, visit www.promedica.org. For questions about Toledo Farmers' Market, including hours of operation and how to use the Ohio Direction Card, contact Toledo Farmers' Market at 419-255-6765.

ProMedica Health System, ranked the nation's leading most integrated health system, was formed in 1986 and is a Toledo, Ohio-based, not-for-profit health care organization with 15,000 employees, 70 corporations and joint ventures, 2,900 physicians and more than 282 facilities in Ohio and Michigan. ProMedica facilities treated more than 2.5 million patients in 2007and includes 10 hospitals; ProMedica Continuing Care Services with senior, rehabilitation and integrative services; ProMedica Physician Group, a large network of primary care, obstetrics, and specialist physicians; Paramount Health Care, the largest HMO in northwest Ohio; and the Health, Education and Research Corporation, with more than 200 academic relationships. For more information, please visit www.promedica.org.

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