Press Releases

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

As Hurricane Ike moves closer to Florida, DaVita Inc, one of the nation's leading providers of kidney care services, is working to enable dialysis patients to continue their scheduled treatments. DaVita(R) is mobilizing teams to provide 120 Florida clinics with the resources to weather the expected storm.

Kidney patients are at high risk during emergencies as they depend on thrice-weekly life-sustaining dialysis treatments. To continue quality care, DaVita is working on the following measures:

    --  Provide high-capacity generators to continue dialysis
        treatments

    --  Offer instructions for emergency preparedness kits for
        patients with special diet needs

    --  Coordinate patient scheduling and communication to ensure
        dialysis treatments remain constant during the storm

Dialysis patients are encouraged to call the Guest Services Contact Center at (800) 400-8331. Live team members assist in making alternative arrangements for treatment if necessary. For additional information please visit DaVita.com for material including articles on Emergency preparedness for people with kidney disease and Preparing for the unexpected with home dialysis.

DaVita is a registered trademark of DaVita Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About DaVita Inc.

DaVita Inc., a FORTUNE 500(R) company, is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, providing dialysis services and education for patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita manages more than 1,300 outpatient facilities and acute units in more than 700 hospitals located in 43 states and the District of Columbia, serving approximately 107,000 patients. As part of DaVita's commitment to building a healthy, caring community, DaVita develops, participates in and donates to numerous programs dedicated to transforming communities and creating positive, sustainable change for children, families and our environment. For more information about DaVita, its kidney education and its community programs, please visit www.davita.com

Source: DaVita Inc.

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/06/08 -- Rain or shine the people of Philadelphia (and even Mayor Nutter) proved that when it comes to cheering on their favorite team even a tropical storm won't keep them away. From a Giant Pink high heel with wings to a fire hydrant complete with a peeing dog, thirty-four teams swiveled and stumbled their way down the steepest course in Red Bull Soapbox history. It was Swampscott, MA, team Deuces Wild that clinched first place, at 44.7 seconds, with their tricked out baby carriage. Although the booties, bonnets and baby made the soapbox, it was the Michael Jackson impersonator stealing and pushing the stroller that made the crowd roar.

"We flew down the hill like we never expected," said Will Phiel, Deuces Wild's co-driver. "The pouring rain was a non-issue for us," he added as he thanked the crowd in his high-pitched Michael Jackson voice.

Philly's very own team Great Scott was awarded second place with their "Back to the Future" themed car. Third place went to team Wizz Kids from the Philadelphia suburbs with their classic depiction of the Philly Cheesesteak. But the crowd had a voice and People's Choice went to Burlington, VT, locals, team Dr. Strangebox, or better known as "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Soapbox Race." The fastest team on the course was Bank on IT, high school students from Bloomsburg, PA, clocking in at 41 MPH. Teams were judged on showmanship, creativity and speed.

"This is an awesome crowd. These people seem to love the race. The harder it rains the more excited they got and that's pretty sweet," said Corey Blade, youtube celebrity and Red Bull Soapbox Judge.

"Philly heard there was a chance to see people scream down a hill and fly into a wall they said 'Yes we'll be there!'" judge Steve Morrison of WMMR's Preston & Steve Show added.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter even got in on the action taking the Red Bull Soapbox car down the 1,785 ft. course. Although the Mayor made it to the finish line, 8 of the 34 cars skidded and slid into haystacks disqualifying them before reaching the end.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Red Bull Soapbox roads have been braved by many daredevils before. The first Red Bull Soapbox Race took place in Belgium in 2000, and has since visited almost 30 countries including Austria, England, Jamaica and Australia to name a few. The first U.S. event was held in St. Louis in 2006. While there is no limit on imagination, there are still a few rules of the road. All driving machines must be entirely human-powered -- no stored power or external energy sources allowed -- though they must have a braking system. Secondly, all vehicles must be less than six feet wide, less than 20 feet in length and no more than seven feet from the ground. And finally, all soapboxes can have 1 or 2 drivers, but when the crafts reach the start ramp they must weigh no more than 176 lbs.

For more information, visit www.redbullsoapboxusa.com. For all media inquiries including team interviews, event history and photos, please contact Libby Tierney elizabeth.tierney@us.redbull.com. B-roll video footage can be found on vod.oceanwatch.com, and photos at www.redbull-photofiles.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT
Libby Tierney
Elizabeth.tierney@us.redbull.com
Kate Wilkinson
Kate.wilkinson@publicis-pr.com

CHICAGO, IL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/06/08 -- More than 75,000 Chicagoans flocked to North Avenue Beach today to witness 28 homemade, human-powered machines take to the skies at Red Bull Flugtag. Although no flight records were shattered, expectations surely were with an impressive array of vehicles, uniquely talented dancers and an international cast of characters (thank you Canadian team for adding a global perspective). Team Crustacean Avengers took first place with a gravity-defying flight of 120 feet coupled with a skit including one very angry lobster that finally got his revenge on the snotty Swedish chef.

Chicago's own New Style Flyers flew into second place donning large baseball bobble heads and carrying bats saluting both their favorite beer and sporting team (Chicago Cubs of course!) "We got everyone behind us from day one, but it isn't until you actually come out here and experience Red Bull Flugtag -- it's unreal," stated a New Style Flyers team member.

Taking a very close third place was Pie in the Sky, a team that chose to honor the famed deep-dish pizza, a craft that caused the crowd to roar in approval. Take that New York City! Today also saw Chicago win another long standing rivalry...Chicago Black Hawks VS. Detroit Red Wings. As it should be, the Chicago Black Hawks scored higher. Unfortunately, the Detroit Red Wings still have the Stanley Cup.

FIRST CLASS CABIN PASSENGERS ONLY

While Red Bull Flugtag is a flying competition, teams needed flare to make the podium. BMX biker and recent bronze medalist Jill Kintner, multi-platinum R&B singer Avant, basketball star Shannon Brown, X Games Gold Medalist, Levi LaVallee, Gaming superstar, David "Walshy" Walsh and ex-Chicago Bear footballer, Jerry Azumah scored the participants on their creativity and showmanship.

"I've seen a lot of characters going nuts up there, and the crashes have been phenomenal! I saw so many people lawn dart and face plant and destroy their carts. This is crowd is impressive, and I'm having fun," stated Kintner.

UP, UP AND ....A-SPLASH?

The first Red Bull Flugtag took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991. Since then, more than 70 Red Bull Flugtags have been held around the world -- from Ireland to San Francisco -- attracting more than 1 million spectators. The record for the farthest flight to date currently stands at 195 feet set in 2000 at Red Bull Flugtag Austria. The U.S. record stands at 155 feet set just last year at Red Bull Flugtag Nashville.

Chicago marked the third and final stop on this year's Red Bull Flugtag national tour. The event visited Tampa Bay on July 19, Portland on August 2.

While there has never been a limit on creativity, there were a few rules and regulations. First off, all flying machines had to be entirely human-powered (no external energy sources or stored power). Secondly, all crafts had to be less than 30 feet wide. And finally, no matter what they say, size does matter -- all crafts had to weigh no more than 450 lbs. (including the pilot).

For media information including interviews, please contact Jen Belongia at (312) 320-6260 or jennifer.belongia@us.redbull.com. For hi resolution photos visit www.redbull-photofiles.com.

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MEDIA INFORMATION
Contact:
Jen Belongia
jennifer.belongia@us.redbull.com
312-360-6260

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Progress Energy crews are working into the night to restore power to about 3,600 customers that remain without electricity in the wake of Tropical Storm Hanna. The company has restored more than 187,000 customers since midnight.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020923/CHM008LOGO-c )

The counties with the largest numbers of power outages at 8 p.m. are Wayne (1,000); New Hanover (650); Carteret (450); and Duplin (430). Outages are scattered elsewhere. Progress Energy expects to restore service to most customers by midnight tonight, with restoration in particularly hard-hit areas expected to be completed by Sunday at midnight.

The rolling nature of the storm meant that new outages were being reported this morning even as crews in other areas were restoring service. Between midnight and 4 p.m. today, company and contract crews had restored service to more than 187,000 customers. The largest number of customers without power at any one time was approximately 55,000 at 8 a.m. today.

The quickest way to report an outage during a storm is to call the automated outage-reporting system at 1-800-419-6356. For the latest information, visit Progress Energy's storm site online at www.progress-energy.com/storm.

Progress Energy, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company will observe a century of operation in 2008. Progress Energy includes two major utilities that serve 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida. Progress Energy is the 2006 recipient of the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award, the industry's highest honor, in recognition of its operational excellence. The company also is the first utility to receive the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Founder's Award for customer service. Progress Energy serves two fast-growing areas of the country, and the company is pursuing a balanced approach to meeting the future energy needs of the region. That balance includes increased energy efficiency programs, investments in renewable energy technologies and a state-of-the-art electricity system. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company's Web site at www.progress-energy.com.

There will not be another press release today. The next update from Progress Energy will be Sunday morning. Customers and media can find outage information on Progress Energy's Web site at www.progress-energy.com/outagemap.

SOURCE Progress Energy

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced $1 million in individual assistance for Louisiana victims of Hurricane Gustav, through a new Emergency Prescription Assistance Program (EPAP) administrated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The program, which has begun providing benefits, is an efficient way for pharmacies to process claims for prescription medications and certain durable medical equipment items for individuals who do not have any form of health insurance coverage and who are from the Louisiana disaster area declared by the President.

Claims for individuals with private insurance, such as employer-sponsored coverage or an individual health insurance policy, are not eligible for payment under the EPAP. Nor are claims for individuals with public insurance, such as Medicare or Medicaid.

"This program is an example of public and private entities working together to improve our nation's ability to respond in emergencies," Secretary Leavitt said. "Over the past year, CMS has worked with pharmacy industry groups and leading technology companies to incorporate their planning and unique capabilities into the program's procedures and processes. The result is a program that is easy to use and provides the extra support that some people need after a disaster."

EPAP covers one-time, 30-day supplies of medications and certain durable medical equipment, such as canes, walkers, wheelchairs and diabetic supplies.

With a written prescription, eligible individuals may receive assistance for essential pharmaceutical and durable medical equipment lost as a direct result of Gustav. The supply can be used to treat an acute condition and to replace maintenance prescription drugs or medical equipment.

For the eligible individuals, the program also would cover, at no cost to the patient, replacements for needed drugs or equipment lost or damaged while in transit, such as from an emergency site to a designated shelter facility.

To assist in the determination of eligibility, pharmacies must check at the point of sale for other forms of health insurance coverage. Only claims with a date of service between Sept. 2 and Sept. 11, 2008 are eligible for processing under the EPAP-Gustav Activation at this time.

Eligible individuals must have a new prescription from a licensed health care practitioner, a current prescription bottle, a prescription phoned in by a licensed health care practitioner, or proof of an existing prescription in order to receive a prescription fill and/or certain durable medical equipment.

Pharmacies must dispense the generic form of medication unless otherwise indicated as brand medically necessary by the licensed health care practitioner.

The HHS Web site is featuring a link to public health and safety information specifically related to hurricanes at www.hhs.gov/hurricane.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services