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Winston-Salem, March 29, 2005 - The Forsyth Medical Center Foundation was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Wachovia Foundation to continue Forsyth Medical Center's education about and fight against childhood and adolescent obesity. According to G. Dee Smith, president of the Forsyth Medical Center Foundation, "This generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation provides a remarkable opportunity to address the growing epidemic of obesity in our community."

Karen Bartoletti, director of community health outreach for Forsyth Medical Center's Sara Lee Center for Women's Health at Forsyth Medical Center, explains, "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 15.3 percent of children ages 6 to 11 and 15.5 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 19 were overweight in 2000. With the help of the Wachovia Foundation, we will continue our mission of improving the quality of life for scores of children and their families through innovative health education."

The program will focus on healthy weight and wellness and nutrition for children and adolescents and will be based on the Sara Lee Center for Women's Health's existing adolescent wellness and weight management programs. The specific initiatives to be funded under the five-year grant are under development but will include community and school based initiatives, including parent and family education.

Joe Crocker, community affairs manager for Wachovia's Carolinas Bank and Forsyth County market president, says the grant, which will be paid over a five-year period, helps fulfill Wachovia's mission of building strong and vibrant communities.

"The Wachovia Foundation is proud to support Forsyth Medical Center and the Sara Lee Center for Women's Health as they strive to improve the health of our community by tackling adolescent obesity," Crocker says. "The Sara Lee Center for Women's Health has a proven track record of addressing important health issues, including adolescent obesity, and it is our fervent hope that by working together we can confront this growing epidemic head on and change the health and future of our children."

For more information about the Sara Lee Center for Women's Health at Forsyth Medical Center and its adolescent wellness programming or its programming for women at all stages of life, please call (336) 718-3790.

Forsyth Medical Center is one of seven hospitals that are part of Novant Health, a not-for-profit healthcare system based in North Carolina. In addition to Forsyth Medical Center, other hospital affiliates include Medical Park Hospital in Winston-Salem and Thomasville Medical Center in Thomasville; also Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital Matthews and Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville in the Charlotte area. Other facilities and programs of Novant Health include three philanthropic foundations, two nursing home and senior residential facilities, physician clinics, outpatient surgery and diagnostic centers, rehabilitation programs and community health outreach programs. Novant Health has been nationally recognized as the "Best in Industry for Working Mothers" by Working Mother Magazine and one of the "Top 40 Family-Friendly NC Companies" by Charlotte Parent and Piedmont Parent magazines. Additionally, Novant Health was named to the 2003 SMG Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks in the country.

Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) is one of the largest providers of financial services to retail, brokerage and corporate customers, with retail operations from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas, and retail brokerage operations nationwide. Wachovia had assets of $493.3 billion, market capitalization of $83.5 billion and stockholders equity of $47.3 billion at December 31, 2004. Its four core businesses, the General Bank, Capital Management, Wealth Management, and the Corporate and Investment Bank, serve customers primarily in 15 states and Washington, D.C. Its full-service retail brokerage firm, Wachovia Securities, LLC, serves clients in 49 states and five Latin American countries. Global services are offered through 33 international offices. Online banking and brokerage products and services also are available through Wachovia.com.