-- Nurses Worldwide are Encouraged to Enter an Exciting Recognition Program Which Showcases Their Creativity and Their Care Solutions/Practice Innovations --

PARIS, Aug. 9, 2011 /CNW/ - Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) announced today the launching of the Care Challenge program.

Care Challenge (http://www.care-challenge.com) is an online initiative developed by Sanofi in collaboration with nurses' organizations, for nurses and is part of the Connecting Nurses international initiative. It comes in the form of a contest, accessible from a dedicated website where nurses can submit their ideas, vote for or engage conversation about other nurses' ideas.

The Care Challenge unique nursing community enables members to share information and education with others in the field and nominate colleagues for an award in nursing excellence. This recognition program is open to licensed nurses anywhere in the world. There will be a total of 20 awards for the best ideas, which will offer an incredible opportunity to develop the initiatives further and give them global recognition.

The program will bring a range of other benefits to nurses such as improving recognition of the nursing community by giving them a stronger voice. Indeed, it will support dialogue within the nursing community by creating networking opportunities at a national and international level. Helping to share knowledge on nursing techniques will enhance education, research and practice as well as the care of patients.

Winners and awards

There are two categories in the recognition program, "Helping Hand" and "Nurse in the Limelight". Taking into account various criteria, including but not limited to, a web-based vote, a jury will choose ten winners from each category. Ten winners in the "Helping Hand" category will receive 3,000 Euros to support their projects' continued success, and ten winners in the "Nurse in the Limelight" category will be prominently featured on the Care Challenge website with a professionally produced video of their innovations.

Entering Care Challenge

The program is focused on identifying nursing innovations related to:

- Education: Resources promoting patient self-management or raising community awareness of a disease. - Practice: Nursing services, procedures, techniques or tools promoting patient self-management of disease or new ways to support families and caregivers. - Research: Studies of outcomes of innovative approaches to nursing, patient care, and patient education.

Full details of the entry process and criteria can be found here: http://www.care-challenge.com/en/help?tab=entries.

Timeline

Registered Nurses are encouraged to sign up (http://www.care-challenge.com/en/users/new) as soon as possible so they can start sharing ideas in this exciting new nursing community.

Key dates in the recognition program are:

- 28 November 2011. Final date for ideas to be submitted on-line to the Care Challenge website. - December 2011. Jury selection and winners announced. - Q1 2012. Winners will receive their award and event streamed on-line.

Background

Care Challenge has been created to celebrate the immensely important role the nursing community plays in healthcare provision around the world, while addressing the challenges which arise within modern healthcare systems.

The nursing community is at the front line of patient care in a wide range of areas, including therapeutic education, supporting treatment adherence and increasingly through prescribing. Care Challenge is part of the Connecting Nurses program, which was developed by Sanofi in partnership with the Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation (NPHF), International Council of Nurses (ICN), the Secretariat International Des Infirmieres et Infirmiers de l'Espace Francophone (SIDIIEF), and the Association Francaise pour le Developpement de l'Education Therapeutique (AFDET).

Connecting Nurses intends to provide a forum for nurses from around the world to share their ideas, advice and innovations. This network of shared knowledge and resources will equip nurses with the tools to advance their practices and inspire patients to become partners in their healthcare.

Further information

To find out more about Care Challenge and to answer any other questions you may have, please visit the Q&A ( http://www.care-challenge.com/en/help ). For further information about the Connecting Nurses program, please contact contact@connecting-nurses.com.

About Sanofi

Sanofi, a global and diversified healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs. Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, rare diseases, consumer healthcare, emerging markets and animal health. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).