Sanofi Announces Nursing Recognition Program to Help Turn Caring Ideas Into Reality

Paris (ots/PRNewswire) -

-- Nurses Worldwide are Encouraged to Enter an Exciting
Recognition Program Which Showcases Their Creativity and Their Care
Solutions/Practice Innovations --

Sanofi announced today the launching of the Care Challenge
program.

Care Challenge (http://www.care-challenge.com) is an online
initiative developed by Sanofi in collaboration with nurses'
organizations, for nurses and is part of the Connecting Nurses
international initiative. It comes in the form of a contest,
accessible from a dedicated website where nurses can submit their
ideas, vote for or engage conversation about other nurses' ideas.

The Care Challenge unique nursing community enables members to
share information and education with others in the field and nominate
colleagues for an award in nursing excellence. This recognition
program is open to licensed nurses anywhere in the world. There will
be a total of 20 awards for the best ideas, which will offer an
incredible opportunity to develop the initiatives further and give
them global recognition.

The program will bring a range of other benefits to nurses such
as improving recognition of the nursing community by giving them a
stronger voice. Indeed, it will support dialogue within the nursing
community by creating networking opportunities at a national and
international level. Helping to share knowledge on nursing techniques
will enhance education, research and practice as well as the care of
patients.

Winners and awards

There are two categories in the recognition program, "Helping
Hand" and "Nurse in the Limelight". Taking into account various
criteria, including but not limited to, a web-based vote, a jury will
choose ten winners from each category. Ten winners in the "Helping
Hand" category will receive 3,000 Euros to support their projects'
continued success, and ten winners in the "Nurse in the Limelight"
category will be prominently featured on the Care Challenge website
with a professionally produced video of their innovations.

Entering Care Challenge

The program is focused on identifying nursing innovations related
to:

- Education: Resources promoting patient self-management or
raising community awareness of a disease.
- Practice: Nursing services, procedures, techniques or tools
promoting patient self-management of disease or new ways to support
families and caregivers.
- Research: Studies of outcomes of innovative approaches to
nursing, patient care, and patient education.

Full details of the entry process and criteria can be found here:
http://www.care-challenge.com/en/help?tab=entries.

Timeline

Registered Nurses are encouraged to sign up (
http://www.care-challenge.com/en/users/new) as soon as possible so
they can start sharing ideas in this exciting new nursing community.

Key dates in the recognition program are:

- 28 November 2011. Final date for ideas to be submitted
on-line to the Care Challenge website.
- December 2011. Jury selection and winners announced.
- Q1 2012. Winners will receive their award and event streamed
on-line.

Background

Care Challenge has been created to celebrate the immensely
important role the nursing community plays in healthcare provision
around the world, while addressing the challenges which arise within
modern healthcare systems.

The nursing community is at the front line of patient care in a
wide range of areas, including therapeutic education, supporting
treatment adherence and increasingly through prescribing. Care
Challenge is part of the Connecting Nurses program, which was
developed by Sanofi in partnership with the Nurse Practitioner
Healthcare Foundation (NPHF), International Council of Nurses (ICN),
the Secretariat International Des Infirmieres et Infirmiers de
l'Espace Francophone (SIDIIEF), and the Association Francaise pour le
Developpement de l'Education Therapeutique (AFDET).

Connecting Nurses intends to provide a forum for nurses from
around the world to share their ideas, advice and innovations. This
network of shared knowledge and resources will equip nurses with the
tools to advance their practices and inspire patients to become
partners in their healthcare.

Further information

To find out more about Care Challenge and to answer any other
questions you may have, please visit the Q&A (
http://www.care-challenge.com/en/help ). For further information
about the Connecting Nurses program, please contact
contact@connecting-nurses.com.

About Sanofi

Sanofi, a global and diversified healthcare leader, discovers,
develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients'
needs. Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with
seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines,
innovative drugs, rare diseases, consumer healthcare, emerging
markets and animal health. Sanofi is listed in Paris and in New York
.

ots Originaltext: sanofi-aventis Group
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Chris Hunter-Ward, Tel. :
+33-1-53-77-87-41,Chris.hunter-ward@sanofi.com