Boston, MA - Partners HealthCare demonstrated its commitment to National Guard and Reserve Veterans in a Statement of Support Ceremony at Partners Corporate Headquarters on Wednesday. Executives from across Partners entities' Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, North Shore Medical Center, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital all participated.

The Statement of Support confirms that Partners HealthCare joins other employers in pledging that:

• We fully recognize, honor and enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA).
• Our managers and supervisors will have the tools they need to effectively manage those employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.
• We will continually recognize and support our country's service members and their families in peace, in crises and in war.

Partners HealthCare is committed to the ongoing support of the brave members of the National Guard and Reserve as they leave for service and upon their safe arrival home, said Dennis Colling, Partners Vice President of Human Resources. Partners employee veterans Andrew Gottlieb, FNP-BC and Gregory McKenna, RN, NP each thanked Partners for the resources they received and the demonstration of the organization?s continued commitment. Gottlieb was mobilized for 13 months to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He currently works as the Director of Occupational Health Services at MGH. McKenna was deployed twice to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and received 2 Bronze Star Awards in recognition of his service. He currently works as a nurse practitioner at Partners HealthCare Occupational Health Services.

Partners HealthCare, founded in 1994 by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, is an integrated health system that includes primary care and specialty physicians, the two academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, community health centers, home health and long-term care services, and other health-related entities. In addition to its patient care mission, Partners is one of the nation?s premier biomedical research organizations and a major teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Partners is a not-for-profit organization.

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972. The mission of ESGR is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflicts through mediation. ESGR volunteers provide free education, consultation, and if necessary mediation for employers of Guard and Reserve employees.