Thousands of Dignity Health Employees and Physicians Participate in 2016 Great Kindness Challenge

SAN FRANCISCO – January 25, 2016 – Dignity Health, one of the nation's largest health systems, announced it is helping to create a culture of kindness across the nation, participating in the Great Kindness Challenge, which starts today and runs through Jan. 29, 2016.

In addition to serving as a presenting sponsor of the Great Kindness Challenge for the third year, many of Dignity Health's more than 65,000 executives, employees, and physicians are taking the challenge alongside three million students this week, matching students' 50 good deeds with kind acts in their hospitals and facilities.

"The Great Kindness Challenge is one of the most powerful means for our nation's youth to demonstrate that they are an unstoppable force of kindness," said president/CEO of Dignity Health, Lloyd H. Dean. "We are proud to again support and participate in the challenge, and recognize that the impact of the millions of acts of kindness - big and small - will be felt globally."

As part of the Great Kindness Challenge this year, Dignity Health has selected a group of community leaders, including Dean; Rep. Doris Matsui; and former CEO of Ella Health, Melissa Dyrdahl, to share their personal "Leading with Kindness" stories, offering poignant moments and lessons where kindness impacted their careers.

Interviewed by students in San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Los Altos, Calif., Dean, Rep. Matsui, and Dyrdahl share their personal kindness journeys and anecdotes in a video, available at DignityHealth.org/GKC2016. The Leading with Kindness video series aims to show students how kindness plays an important role in all aspects of life, including their future professional success.

Great Kindness Challenge is a driving force in creating a culture of kindness for students across the nation. Developed by nonprofit, Kids for Peace, this annual event challenges students to complete 50 acts of kindness in one week, making a lifelong commitment to kindness. The 2016 Great Kindness Challenge has more than three million students enrolled, which will amount to 150 million acts of kindness.

About Dignity Health

Dignity Health, one of the nation's largest health care systems, is a 21-state network of 9,000 physicians, 59,000 employees, and more than 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In FY15, Dignity Health provided $1.7 billion in charitable care and services. For more information, please visit our website at www.dignityhealth.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.