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Le Bonheur Children’s and FedEx Corporation Break Ground on the FedExFamilyHouse

Dépèche transmise le 4 août 2009 par Business Wire

Le Bonheur Children’s and FedEx Corporation Break Ground on the FedExFamilyHouse

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center today broke ground on FedExFamilyHouse, a state-of-the-art facility that will provide housing for families of patients receiving extended care at Le Bonheur.

The FedExFamilyHouse will open in late 2010, coinciding with the Le Bonheur’s move into their new 255-bed, $340 million hospital. The house will have 24 suites, dining facilities, recreational spaces, a small business center and several other family-friendly amenities, including:

• Outdoor spaces with a courtyard, dining terrace, children’s play area and screened porches
• Living and family rooms
• Indoor play area and teen lounge
• Eating area that can be arranged for multiple families to eat together
• Four kitchens with pantry space that includes 24 refrigerators and storage for each family
• Community conference room
• Lounge and laundry on each floor
• Room suites including two beds, private bathroom, window seat that becomes a bed, space for a crib, desk and closet with plenty of storage for suitcases and belongings

Additionally, FedExFamilyHouse will be one of the first sustainable pediatric residence facilities in the U.S. and will be LEED certified.

Financial support for the FedExFamilyHouse has come from donations from FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and personal donations from Frederick W. Smith, FedEx chairman, president and CEO, and his wife Diane, and Alan B. Graf, Jr., FedEx executive vice president and CFO, and his wife Susan.

“Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center is one of the leading pediatric medical facilities in the country and has provided children from around the world with exceptional care for more than 50 years,” said Mr. Graf. “The FedExFamilyHouse will further enable families to focus more fully on their children’s care by providing them with a retreat just steps away from Le Bonheur.”

The FedExFamilyHouse supports Le Bonheur’s long-term vision to become a top pediatric facility in the country, built upon the concept of medical excellence and care that is family-centered.

In its continued pursuit to offer care in cutting edge medical facilities, Le Bonheur Children’s is less than a year away from a grand opening celebration for its new hospital in June 2010. Patients will move in to the new facility in the fall of 2010. The $340-million, 610,000-square-foot hospital will significantly increase Le Bonheur’s current space for patient care, research and teaching. FedEx supported the hospital expansion with a gift of $5 million.

“FedEx is a wonderful community asset for Memphis,” said Meri Armour, president and CEO of Le Bonheur Children’s. “They realized the need we had to house families of our patients traveling from all over the county and decided that the FedExFamilyHouse was the perfect answer. We are grateful for their support and dedication to children in Memphis and the U.S.”

FedEx has supported Le Bonheur Children’s through volunteer activities and financial contributions for several years. FedEx also supports organizations that share a commitment to children’s health and safety, including SafeKids Worldwide, March of Dimes, ORBIS International and numerous children’s hospitals in the local communities where its team members live and work.

About Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center

Founded in 1952, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center is the Mid-South’s first and only comprehensive pediatric medical facility. Every year Le Bonheur Children’s treats more than 130,000 children from throughout the U.S. and the world. Le Bonheur is home to one of the nation’s busiest pediatric emergency departments and hosts one of the largest pediatric surgical brain tumor programs. For more information, please call (901) 287-6030 or visit www.lebonheur.org.

About FedEx

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $35 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 280,000 employees and contractors to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.

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