SAN ANTONIO, TX--(Marketwired - November 30, 2016) - Mission Pharmacal Company (Mission) served as Platinum Sponsor for two recent March of Dimes (MOD) Annual Nurse of the Year (NOTY) Awards events. The first occurred on Wednesday, November 16, when MOD North Central New Jersey conducted its 11^th Annual NOTY Awards celebration at Pines Manor in Edison, New Jersey. Then, on Saturday, November 19, the MOD Georgia NOTY event took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Atlanta.

In addition, two Mission product lines -- Dr. Smith's® consumer baby line of products and the CitraNatal® Family of prescription prenatal vitamins -- also sponsored two specific NOTY awards categories, Pediatrics and Women's Health.

In New Jersey, the nurse winners for the two Mission sponsored categories were:

Pediatrics:
Clare Kennedy, Bayada Pediatrics/Children's Specialized Hospital

Women's Health:
Dawn Goffredo, Inspira Health Network

The three nurse winners for the Mission sponsored categories in Georgia were:

Pediatrics:
Dewayne Joy, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Chuck Anderson, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Women's Health:
Rhonda Allen, Amerigroup

"We congratulate all of the wonderful Nurse of the Year finalists and winners in New Jersey, Georgia, and throughout the country," notes Leslie Painter, Mission Pharmacal District Sales Manager, Women's Health & National Sales Team Captain, March of Dimes/March for Babies. "Mission is truly proud of our involvement with MOD and there are many parallels between our two organizations. As Mission enters our seventh decade, we continue to pioneer innovative products that meet the needs of both women and babies, just as MOD continues its support of research, education, vaccines, and breakthroughs that help improve the health of babies."

The New Jersey and Georgia events are two of more than 15 NOTY Awards Celebrations held across the United States each year. These celebrations help raise awareness of how important the nursing community is in caring for families, while also demonstrating the deep appreciation MOD, event sponsors, and all in attendance have for these special nurses. Beyond the well-deserved recognition of the many outstanding nurses, the NOTY Awards celebrations also help raise much needed funds for MOD.

November was MOD "Prematurity Awareness Month" and November 17 was "World Prematurity Day." At the start of the month, MOD issued its annual Premature Birth Report Card, providing a look at how well the United States, each state, and counties in each state across the country are doing to reduce the serious problem of premature birth in the U.S. For the first time in eight years, the rate of premature birth has gotten worse, driven by higher rates among specific racial and ethnic groups as well as geographic areas. The U.S. received a "C" grade on the report card, falling short of the organization's goal of reducing the preterm birth rate.

"From a personal level, I am the mother of two beautiful girls who were born prematurely," notes Natalie Sirjuesingh, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Mission Pharmacal. "When our girls were born we relied heavily on doctors and nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) who thankfully had the support of March of Dimes. At the time, we weren't fully aware of all that MOD does, yet through the years have really learned what they are all about and how much they give back to support doctors, nurses, and hospitals. It makes me proud that the company I work for has supported MOD both financially and through the volunteer efforts of our leadership and employees."

Mission, a privately held pharmaceutical company based in San Antonio, has been a national supporter of the March of Dimes Foundation since 2010 and has contributed more than $1.5 million dollars to the organization in corporate sponsorship and fundraising efforts.

About the March of Dimes
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. For more than 75 years, moms and babies have benefited from March of Dimes research, education, vaccines, and breakthroughs. For the latest resources and health information, visit their websites marchofdimes.org and nacersano.marchofdimes.org. You can also find them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

About Mission Pharmacal Company
Mission Pharmacal Company is a privately held pharmaceutical company based in San Antonio, Texas. For seven decades, the company has been improving the lives of people through every stage of life by identifying unmet healthcare needs and delivering innovative, high-quality prescription, over-the-counter, and dietary supplement products to meet these needs using only the purest ingredients and FDA-approved methods of manufacturing. Mission is recognized as a pioneer and leader in the therapeutic areas of women's health and urology and also offers leading products through its pediatric, dermatology, primary care, and long-term care service lines. Using an innovative business model, Mission has created wholly-owned subsidiaries, BioComp Pharma, Inc., a generic drug marketer; Alamo Pharma Services, Inc., a specialized contract sales organization; ProSolus, Inc., a transdermal drug developer and manufacturer; and BexR Logistics LLC, a logistics and fulfillment arm, to diversify its offerings and build forward-thinking partnerships with other pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Mission Pharmacal is a proud national supporter of the March of Dimes Foundation®, whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. To learn more, please visit missionpharmacal.com.

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