August 25, 2003
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - August 25, 2003 - Sprint (NYSE: FON, PCS) today announced a multiyear agreement with the Transplant Resource Center (TRC) of Maryland to provide advanced wireless data communications services. Utilizing high-speed data capabilities of the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network, TRC of Maryland expects to advance its mission of making transplantable organs and tissues available to as many people as possible.
Through the agreement, Sprint will provide PCS Connection Cards by Novatel Wireless (Merlin C201) for TRC's personnel to use with laptops when conducting on-site evaluations and coordination of organ donor suitability. By using the PCS Connection Cards, nurses are able to directly input and transmit large amounts of in-depth medical data to a central database, bypassing the labor- and time-intensive process of writing out and faxing information to multiple destinations.
"Each time we have organs available for donation, an enormous amount of critical, detailed medical history information must be gathered and transmitted to several medical teams to locate suitable recipients - all of this information is critical and we're working against the clock," said Marion Borowiecki, CEO of TRC of Maryland. "The wireless solution Sprint has provided enables us to significantly speed up the process of collecting and sharing information as well as increase the accuracy of the data shared. This, in turn, will help us save more lives"
"Sprint takes its commitment to meeting the specialized needs of business customers, including those in the healthcare segment, very seriously," said Maureen Link, vice president of business sales, northeast region, PCS Division of Sprint. "With high-speed wireless data capabilities, nationwide coverage and a complete line-up of innovative devices, the PCS Clear Wireless Workplace enables customers to implement customized solutions that are convenient, affordable and specific to their needs."
Transplant Resource Center of Maryland Selects Sprint for Wireless Communications Services
About Sprint Sprint is a global integrated communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries. With approximately 70,000 employees worldwide and nearly $27 billion in annual revenues, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint provides local voice and data services in 18 states and operates the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
About Transplant Resource Center of Maryland The Transplant Resource Center of Maryland, Inc. (TRC) is a not-for-profit health service organization that provides organ procurement and tissue bank services to the citizens of Maryland. TRC was incorporated in 1991, consolidating the former Maryland Organ Procurement Center (est. 1982) and the Maryland Tissue Bank (1983). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) certifies TRC as an organ procurement organization (OPO), and the State of Maryland licenses TRC as a tissue bank.
The TRC is governed by a 24-member Board of Trustees representing the two Baltimore Transplant Centers (The Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical System), the general public and donor families.
For further information, contact the Transplant Resource Center of Maryland at 410-242-7000 / 800-641-HERO [4376], extension 3023.