As part of my responsibility as the Corporate Social Responsibility Fellow, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. this past October for the 13th annual Alliance Building & Training Session (ABTS)— a professional development and networking opportunity that brought together all Bridge to Employment (BTE) programs. Johnson & Johnson established the BTE program to help young people build solid futures by introducing them to a broad array of careers in health care.

This session allowed partners from around the world to share best practices as well as plan the next steps of their respective programs. The session also allowed interaction between students, mentors, school administrators, and corporate partners.

At this conference, I served two roles: student ambassador chaperone, which allowed me to work with a student group on their case study (they won best overall presentation, by the way!), and “roving” reporter, which allowed me to interview partners within every role of the BTE program; these interviews gave great insight from a variety of perspectives on how BTE impacted not only students’ lives, but also left a great impression on the mentors, administrators, and staff that worked with students.

This impression was also imparted on me. While playing the role of reporter was a fantastic experience, I really enjoyed working with and helping students with their case studies. Their energy and eagerness to learn were super inspiring and kept me enthused through a jam-packed conference schedule. While I was happy to have helped them with their presentation, I was also grateful for the opportunity to meet young people who will surely be our future leaders, and hear first-hand how BTE has shaped their college and career interests.

To hear it in their own words, check out the videos I shot below:

1) MobiHealthNews provides a snapshot of how mobile services are being used around the world to improve health literacy, highlighting a presentation made by Paul Meyer, co-founder, president and chairman of Voxiva, at a meeting last week in Nashville:

“Although there is a perception that everyone is on in Internet, only 31 percent of the population making less than $35,000 a year has broadband. Meyer pointed out that while only 51 percent of people with chronic illness have Internet access, 90 percent of Americans have mobile phones and 1 trillion text messages were sent last year.”

2) The Spohrs are Multiplying provides a personal perspective on the importance of quality care and information in ensuring healthy moms and babies:

“Information is power as they say, and this is rarely ever more true than when pregnant. An expecting mother who is informed about how to be healthy when pregnant greatly improves her chances of having a healthy baby.”

3) Ivy’s PPD blog highlights the kinds of messages distributed through Text4Baby, including support from Postpartum Support International:

“Yes, that’s right. PSI is an outreach partner of text4baby, which means that texts related to mom’s mental health will connect women to PSI resources. This ground-breaking inclusion of mental health messages in this program will help reduce stigma around, minimize risk for, and increase awareness about perinatal mood disorders.”

And of course, our own Margaret Gurowitz provided an historical perspective on Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to provide information for new and expectant moms on her KilmerHouse blog.

Earlier today, the White House announced the launch of a new public health initiative, text4baby  – the US’s first-ever free mobile health service that provides timely and expert health information through SMS text messages for pregnant women and new moms. Simply by texting “BABY” to 511411 (or “BEBE” for Spanish language services) women can receive three free SMS text messages each week timed to their due date or to the baby’s date of birth that provide a wealth of information about the health of both mother and baby through the baby’s first year. 

According to a release issued by the White House the infant mortality rate in the US is one of the highest in the industrialized world – each year, about 500,000 babies are born prematurely and an estimated 28,000 children die before their first birthday.  This new text service is one effort to help address this situation.

Johnson & Johnson is one of the founding sponsors of this initiative, and there is a fascinating story showing how this service can benefit a first-time mother on our corporate website. In addition, BabyCenter, one of our operating companies and a development partner in creating the text4baby content in English and Spanish, has some useful information and great tips for new and expectant moms on its site.

I’m a great believer in the way in which access to useful information can help improve health outcomes.  Text4baby hopefully will help underserved moms and expectant moms gain access to knowledge that can improve address the issues of mother and baby health in the US.

UPDATE: Margaret has an interesting history of Johnson & Johnson’s role in providing information for moms and expectant moms over at Kilmer House.

“These Growth Priorities are what we believe our businesses need to focus on. They are:

Innovative Products – Our growth has always been based on scientific innovations that serve unmet patient and customer needs in a meaningful way. This has led us to be a market leader, #1 or #2, in many of our businesses. We will stay focused on bringing forth innovative, accessible and effective products – and entirely new business models — that address the most prevalent health care needs of the day.

Robust Pipelines – We must continuously target, invest and manage the development of a robust pipeline of new medicines, devices and products. We plan to use a mix of internal and external sources to sustain pipelines that provide a competitive advantage. We fully expect the new products coming out of our pipeline today to accelerate the proportion of our sales driven by newer products.

Global Presence – As a global health care leader, we must continue to expand our presence and execute our strategies in the appropriate way for diverse markets and customers. Our approach will be strategic, effective and cost-efficient to address the local needs.

Talented People – Our extraordinary and diverse workforce is still our cornerstone and we must develop our people, challenge them, motivate them and reward them to achieve success.”

In his remarks to analysts today to discuss the fourth quarter 2009 earnings, Chairman and CEO Bill Weldon took a look back at what was said back in 2008 and then to see what the company has accomplished. So what exactly were those accomplishments?

You can listen to a replay of the earnings call – including Bill’s remarks – but I thought it would be of interest to share what he covered for those checking out JNJBTW. During the call today, Bill said the following:

“When we met with this group in January 2008, we looked ahead at the business challenges we would see over the next two years, we spoke about building our foundation of growth and we discussed many of the steps we were taking to do that:

We were in the midst of completing a restructuring of our Pharmaceuticals and Cordis businesses to deal with significant patent expirations and competitive pressures. Those restructurings were completed.

We were completing the integration of the Pfizer Consumer Healthcare business with our Consumer and OTC businesses, and looking ahead to further developing iconic brands like Listerine and Zyrtec. These integrated Consumer businesses are seeing solid performance.

We were continuing to make investments in emerging markets, including the traditional BRIC markets – Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as other fast-growing developing markets like Mexico and Turkey.

We continued to advance our pipeline of pharmaceutical and medical device products, with many of those we highlighted now in the market or nearing approval.

We continued to identify white spaces in health care, investing in two acquisitions as cornerstones to a new Wellness and Prevention business.

Beyond that, we’ve made 8 major acquisitions since the beginning of 2008 and invested in several strategic licensing or collaboration agreements over that same period. These deals are complementary to our internal pipelines and bring us new capabilities or access to new growth platforms. “

“We’re very conscious of the bar we set for ourselves and that consumers expect more from us than from others because of our history and reputation. Our recent consumer product recall and FDA warning letter were important reminders of this expectation and the vigilance it requires. I want to assure you we take these matters very seriously and nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the people who use our products.

We are undertaking a thorough review of our procedures to ensure that we identify potential improvements we could make moving forward. We believe these and other actions we are taking will address the concerns that the FDA raised in its warning letter, and we are working in close consultation with them.

When McNeil Consumer Healthcare first received some complaints on a “musty” odor associated with our products in 2008, the company conducted a microbiological investigation to check for the presence of bacteria and mold, which would be consistent with the presence of the odor. No bacteria or mold was found and it was believed that the complaints were likely an isolated issue.

When similar complaint trends were identified in 2009, the company initiated further investigation and novel forensic testing. McNeil determined that the reported uncharacteristic odor was caused by trace amounts of a chemical byproduct originating from the treatment of wood pallets used to transport and store product packaging materials.
 
Subsequently, we initiated a voluntary product recall based on broad precautionary criteria, recalling numerous product lots that had not been the subject of any consumer complaints.

Even as we continue our investigation, we have taken additional actions beyond the recall to assure product quality. We have required suppliers who ship materials to our plants to discontinue the use of the type of wood shipping pallets associated with the recall. We are conducting full inspections of all materials coming into our facilities and have had outside experts evaluate our plants. We are confident in moving forward with production and we will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation and consult with the FDA.”

At JNJBTW we try, whenever possible, to provide additional perspective around activities that are taking place at Johnson & Johnson. Since I’ve now learned a few things about the McNeil Consumer Healthcare recall, I thought I would pass this information on to you.

When McNeil Consumer Healthcare first received some complaints of a “musty” odor in 2008, the company conducted a microbiological investigation to check for the presence of bacteria and mold, which would be consistent with the presence of the odor. No bacteria or mold was found and it was determined that the complaints were likely an isolated issue.

When similar complaint trends were identified in 2009, the company initiated further investigation and analytical testing and determined that the reported uncharacteristic odor is caused by trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) – which, as the company explained in its press release, “can result from the breakdown of a chemical that is sometimes applied to wood that is used to build wood pallets that transport and store product packaging materials.”

McNeil Consumer Healthcare is continuing to investigate this complex matter. They’ve used very broad criteria for the recall and, out of an abundance of caution, they have recalled product lots that they believe have the potential to be affected, even if these lots have not been the subject of any consumer complaints. In addition, McNeil has required suppliers who ship materials to their plants to stop using the type of pallets associated with the recall. The company is also conducting a full inspection of all materials coming into its manufacturing facilities and has employed outside experts on TBA to inspect facilities and review procedures moving forward. McNeil is continuing to monitor and evaluate the situation and consult with the FDA.

As they learn more, I will try to keep you informed.

In the meantime, for those who are interested in obtaining additional information about the recall announcement, including the product lots involved, you should visit McNeil’s website, where they have posted their announcement and contact information for consumers.

For these instructions or information regarding how to return or dispose of the product, consumers should log on to the internet at www.mcneilproductrecall.com or call 1-888-222-6036 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Time, and Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time). Consumers who have medical concerns or questions should contact their healthcare provider. Any adverse reactions may also be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Program by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178, by mail at MedWatch, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787, or on the MedWatch website at www.fda.gov/medwatch.

You can also follow the latest news on the recall via the Twitter account McNeil created last week (which I tweeted about as well via @JNJComm) @McNeilRecall.

Last week’s release follows two previous recall announcements – the first on Nov. 5, 2009 when McNeil announced a recall of certain lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain 100 Count bottles and the second on Dec. 18, 2009, when the company expanded the recall to include all lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain 100 count with the E-Z open cap.

Like many other organizations, Johnson & Johnson is sending aid in the form of cash as well as needed health care products. For instance, a note went out to employees yesterday morning explaining that as a starting point, four Johnson & Johnson disaster relief modules with large quantities of consumer and over-the-counter products have been shipped. The company has also provided employees with a means to contribute to charitable organizations that my colleagues in the corporate contributions group feel have a good track record of providing the support and help in times of such emergencies. For Johnson & Johnson employees in the U.S., contributions made to these organizations will be matched by the corporation.

While the company won’t match such gifts for non-employees, looking over the list, I couldn’t help but think that others looking for some guidance may find such a list of these organizations a good place to turn. Of course, this is not to say that other charities and organizations that aren’t included on this list also aren’t worthy causes and won’t contribute in a significant way to the relief effort, but I nonetheless felt that it may be a useful list to share. Below are some of the organizations we are supporting

AmeriCares
Catholic Medical Mission Board
Direct Relief International
Esperanza International
Heart to Heart
Hospital Albert Schweitzer (Pittsburgh)
Medical Teams International
Partners In Health
SIGN

I started donating blood about 15 years ago. I was recruited by a member of the New Jersey Blood Services. The New Jersey Blood Services has been fulfilling its commitment to the people of New Jersey by supplying blood products and services with quality and compassion. They serve approximately 60 New Jersey hospitals and conduct blood drives on a daily basis in 14 New Jersey counties. I have always been mindful of what a blessed life my family and I lead, and felt that this was my way of helping others; doing my part to make a difference. 

Your chances of knowing someone who will need a donation is huge. A few years ago my good friend Elisabeth got the great news from her son on becoming a grandparent for the first time of twins. Unfortunately, the twins were born prematurely and barely weighing 2 pounds. They faced many medical obstacles and were in need of blood donations. I immediately volunteered to donate and am happy to report that 7 years later they are thriving. I feel a special connection to those two beautiful children and am grateful that I could help out. There is no better feeling and sense of self when helping others.

Some statistics from the Mayo Clinic indicate:

• That only 5 percent of eligible donors donate blood.
• Whole blood donors can donate every 56 days.
• 25 percent or more of us will need blood at least once in our lifetime.
• Each whole blood donation can help as many as three people.

Imagine that — helping three people with one pint of your blood. Be it a child, teen or adult someone may live another day with your simple act of donating blood.

The procedure to donate is an easy one — to start you fill out a form which includes your name, age, address and personal pertinent information. The next step a nurse takes your vital signs, temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and pricks your finger to check your iron level. If everything checks out you are then ready to donate. A phlebotomist administers the needle and in less than 30 minutes you donate a pint of blood. It’s as easy as 1…2…3.

Here are some ways that your blood donation would be used. The donation is separated into 3 components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma. Red blood cells are primarily used for cancer patients, hip replacements, liver transplants, anemic patients, ulcer patients and trauma victims. Platelets are used for cancer and leukemia patients. Plasma is mainly used for burn victims.

Like a lot of people I work with here, I feel we have a responsibility to the world community. I try to carry out many of those beliefs thorough volunteerism and blood donation. I am also a member of the Blood Committee at Johnson & Johnson. I am in charge of scheduling the volunteers to help at all our corporate drives, send reminder emails to donors before the drives and to help plan our annual Blood Donor Reception. The role of the volunteer is an important one –they welcome donors and help make their donation go as smoothly as possible.  At Johnson & Johnson we hold 5 drives a year at each of our three campuses. The blood committee meets after every drive and one of our functions is to brainstorm ways to increase donations throughout the year. We try to encourage our fellow employees, family, friends and members of the community to donate blood. 

In my mind, blood donation it is the easiest thing to do and the most rewarding – by donating blood you can save a life. I encourage everyone to roll up their sleeves and take part in donating blood.