Dr. Scott, a distinguished healthcare leader, brings decades of clinical, operational, and business experience to the role. Since January 2024, he has served as Interim Chief Operating Officer at Direct Relief and Co-Chair of the organization’s Health Equity Fund, where he has played a pivotal role in advancing initiatives to address health disparities. He previously served on the Board of Directors at Direct Relief.

“Dr. Scott’s extensive healthcare leadership and commitment to advancing Direct Relief’s humanitarian mission make him uniquely qualified to guide the organization through this transitional period with focus and continuity,” said Mark Linehan, Chair of the Board of Directors. “We are grateful for his willingness to step into this critical role as we finalize the selection of a permanent CEO.”

This leadership transition follows Thomas Tighe’s decision to step down after an extraordinary 24-year tenure as CEO. Under Tighe’s leadership, Direct Relief grew into one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, delivering over $15 billion in medical aid across 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

Dr. Scott’s career spans leadership roles at some of the most prominent healthcare organizations. Before joining Direct Relief, he served as Deputy Chief Health Officer at IBM Watson Health, where he advised global healthcare organizations on performance improvement and strategy. He also held leadership positions at Truven Health Analytics and EmCare, where he oversaw quality and operational performance across hospital-based contracts nationally. He previously practiced emergency medicine for over 25 years and has also served as Medical Director, Chief of Staff, and hospital board trustee.

In addition to his operational leadership, Dr. Scott is a respected educator, serving as Adjunct Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson University, College of Population Health, and Adjunct Faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Isenberg School of Management. He holds multiple certifications in healthcare quality management, physician leadership, and corporate governance; along with serving on the Board of Directors for a children’s hospital, health plan, and medical device company.

“It’s a privilege to support Direct Relief’s critical mission during this transition,” Dr. Scott said. “I look forward to working with the exceptional team and partners to ensure the organization continues to deliver life-saving aid and uphold its commitment to advancing its mission.”

The Board of Directors is in the final stages of a comprehensive search for a permanent CEO to build on Direct Relief’s legacy of innovation and excellence to advance its humanitarian mission.

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Charity Navigator, America’s top independent nonprofit evaluator, has awarded Direct Relief an overall 100% charity rating for 2024. This achievement marks Direct Relief’s 14th consecutive Four-Star rating, underscoring its commitment to excellence, accountability, and measurable impact in delivering on its humanitarian mission.

In addition to its perfect score, Direct Relief was also named one of Charity Navigator’s Best Humanitarian Relief Charities in 2024. The organization also earned top rankings for its responses to Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton, and the humanitarian crises in Sudan and Ukraine These lists, according to Charity Navigator, recognize charities that are “extraordinarily effective at what they do, giving you the chance to support a cause where you’ll have an impact.”

Direct Relief’s Charity Ratings

Direct Relief achieved top scores across Charity Navigator’s evaluation criteria:

Within the charity watchdog’s evaluation “beacons,” Direct Relief earned a 100% rating in Accountability & Finance, Leadership & Adaptability, and Culture & Community. Within the Impact & Measurement Beacon, Direct Relief earned a 100% rating in Impact and 97% in Measurement.

Michael Thatcher, President and CEO of Charity Navigator, recognized Direct Relief for its performance, stating:

“We are delighted to provide Direct Relief with third-party accreditation that validates their operational excellence. The Four-Star Rating is the highest possible rating an organization can achieve. We are eager to see the good work that Direct Relief can accomplish in the years ahead.”

Humanitarian Impact in 2024

In 2024, Direct Relief made significant strides in advancing its global humanitarian mission, including:

• Delivering Lifesaving Medicines: Distributed 377 million defined daily doses of medicine to more than 2,300 healthcare facilities across 90 countries and all 50 U.S. states.
• Hurricane Responses: Mobilized disaster responses to Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton, providing financial support and essential medicines to over 90 healthcare providers across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
• Middle East Humanitarian Aid: Provided $299 million (wholesale value) in medical aid to regions including Gaza, Egypt, Israel, and Syria, among others. This included nearly 150 tons of medical supplies valued at $32 million to Gaza, addressing cancer treatment, diabetes care, cardiac conditions, and water purification needs.
• Support for Ukraine: Delivered $322 million in medical aid in 2024 alone to Ukraine for the benefit of people affected by war, bringing the total to 2,600 tons of aid valued at $1.4 billion since the war began in 2022. Current efforts focus on rehabilitation, mental health, mobile care, and resilient energy solutions for healthcare facilities.

Stewardship and Financial Transparency

Direct Relief is committed to maximizing the impact of every donation, ensuring funds are used responsibly and effectively to support those in need:

• 100% Allocation of Donor-Designated Funds: Every contribution earmarked for specific programs or emergencies is applied exclusively to those purposes, giving donors full assurance that their intent is honored.
• Independently Funded Operations: Direct Relief operates solely on private charitable contributions, declining government funding to maintain independence and focus on its mission.
• No Fundraising Costs Paid by Donors: Fundraising expenses, which average just 2% of total cash revenue, are entirely covered by a private bequest. This means 0% of donor contributions are used for fundraising and instead support Direct Relief’s humanitarian mission.
• Operational Efficiency: Approximately 99.5 cents of every dollar (including in-kind donations) go directly to program services, with 0.3 cents allocated to administrative costs and 0.1 cents to fundraising.
• Leveraging In-Kind Contributions: Strategic partnerships with businesses and organizations amplify the impact of donations. Contributions of medicine and medical supplies—valued at their wholesale cost—constitute the majority of Direct Relief’s revenue, allowing cash donations to stretch even further.

For a detailed overview of how Direct Relief uses its resources to advance its humanitarian mission, visit Direct Relief’s donation policies.

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Direct Relief’s policy regarding designated contributions for Hurricanes Helene and Milton response activities is simple: All contributions designated for “Hurricane Helene” and “Hurricane Milton” will be used directly for relief and recovery efforts related to these crises.

Direct Relief does not use solicitations for disaster relief to raise funds for unrestricted use.

This update outlines Direct Relief’s commitment to transparency in its hurricane response activities and details its efforts to honor donor intent.

Commitment to Transparency and Accountability

Direct Relief is dedicated to ensuring transparency and accountability in all its operations, striving to provide those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton with the necessary aid and resources to recover and rebuild their communities. The organization values the trust placed by donors and is committed to maximizing the impact of every contribution.

To respect donor intentions, Direct Relief’s online donation page requires donors to choose either “Hurricane Helene,” “Hurricane Milton,” or a combined fund for both hurricanes, where donations will be split between the two responses. Donations specifying “Hurricane Helene,” “Hurricane Milton,” or similar notations in the check memo line or accompanying correspondence will be honored as instructions to restrict the gift for the designated response effort.

Designated Donations: Geographies Supported

Donations Designated for “Hurricane Helene”

• Supported Regions: North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and South Carolina.

Donations Designated for “Hurricane Milton”

• Supported Regions: Florida, primarily where Hurricane Milton made landfall and caused significant damage. Assistance may also extend to displaced residents in neighboring states.

Donations Designated for Both “Hurricanes Helene and Milton”

• Supported Regions: All areas affected by both hurricanes, encompassing all the states listed above. Donations made to support both responses will be split evenly between the two efforts, ensuring equitable support to all impacted regions.

How Designated Contributions Are Used

All contributions designated for “Hurricane Helene” and/or “Hurricane Milton” will be used exclusively for relief and recovery efforts related to these specific crises. This commitment includes both programmatic costs and associated expenses directly associated with the relief activities, including:

Deploying Humanitarian Aid and Medical Supplies:

• Urgent Medical Needs: Mobilizing urgently needed medications at no cost to affected communities, including chronic disease medications (e.g., insulin, hypertension medications), vaccines (e.g., tetanus vaccines), and other essential drugs.
• Essential Supplies: Providing field medicine packs for first responder teams and vital items for displaced or sheltered populations.
• Distribution: Securing necessary medications and supplies through donations and procurement, and transporting them to nonprofit healthcare providers, including free and charitable clinics, health centers, public health agencies, and mobile medical teams.
• Financial Assistance: Offering direct financial support to bolster on-the-ground operations.
• Emergency Grants: Providing emergency operating grants to offset cost burdens for grassroots organizations serving core functions.
• Infrastructure Rebuilding: Supporting the rebuilding and reinforcement of damaged infrastructure in affected communities.
• Data and Analytics Infrastructure and Information Management: Conducting assessment, analysis, reporting, and dissemination of crucial situational information to ensure an effective and coordinated response.
• Associated Expenses: Direct Relief Activities: Covering costs directly related to the relief efforts, such as credit-card processing fees, accounting fees, postage for issuing receipts, banking fees for wire transfers, warehousing and packaging of medical materials, and IT support necessary for relief operations
• Note: No funds designated for these hurricanes will be used for Direct Relief’s fundraising activities, which are covered by generous bequests.

Accounting for Restricted Donations

Direct Relief establishes internal funds for all designated contributions to ensure that donor intentions are honored. All expenditures related to Hurricanes Helene and Milton are meticulously recorded for both internal management and external reporting purposes.

Importance of Unrestricted Support

While designated contributions are vital for specific relief efforts, general unrestricted financial support is essential for Direct Relief to fulfill its broader humanitarian mission. Unrestricted funds enable the organization to respond rapidly and effectively to emergencies, providing assistance to people in various situations that may not receive widespread attention.

Honoring Donor Intent

Direct Relief is obligated to—and will always—honor the intent of a donor-designated financial contribution, including, obviously, in this instance with regard to contributions designated for Hurricanes Helene and Milton. If a donor makes a clearly restricted gift for a purpose or with a restriction that Direct Relief is not able to fulfill or comply with, the organization will advise the donor of this situation and inquire if other uses may be permitted. If a donor’s intent cannot be met, Direct Relief will offer to direct the gift to another nonprofit able to fulfill the donor’s intent or return the gift.

Hurricane Helene Relief

Donate

Hurricane Milton Relief

Donate

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As part of the organization’s hurricane emergency response, Direct Relief CEO Thomas Tighe arrived in Jacksonville Tuesday morning to assist in delivering last-minute essential medicines and supplies to health providers on the ground.

“Given the intensity of Hurricane Milton and its path across heavily populated areas, there is a heightened need for rapid response and access to essential medicines and medical supplies,” said Tighe. “This storm presents a serious threat to both lives and health systems, especially for those who are already underserved. Direct Relief’s focus remains on providing immediate, life-saving support to those who need it most, ensuring that health facilities remain operational and well-stocked as the storm bears down.”

Direct Relief has pre-positioned emergency medical supplies at healthcare facilities throughout Florida, which will be vital in maintaining care during and after the storm. These supplies include essential medicines, antibiotics, chronic disease medications, and medical kits for trauma and emergency care. As the storm progresses, Direct Relief is working closely with local and national partners to assess needs and ensure that aid is delivered swiftly and effectively.

Direct Relief remains committed to supporting health systems in the face of disasters, ensuring that people continue to have access to critical medical care when it’s needed most.

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An esteemed attorney and conservationist, Strickland served as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks from 2009 to 2011. In this role, he oversaw the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service, leading efforts in habitat restoration, species protection, and public lands expansion. Strickland joined Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in 2011 and was a partner in the firm’s Regulatory and Government Affairs, Litigation/Controversy and Securities Departments until 2024. His practice focused on a range of matters at the intersection of law, business, and government policy, including government enforcement cases, Congressional and internal investigations, corporate governance, and high-stakes crisis management matters.  

Prior to his work at the Interior Department, Strickland was appointed executive vice president and chief legal officer of UnitedHealth Group, a diversified health and well-being company serving more than 70 million individuals nationwide. At UnitedHealth, he managed an in-house team of 200 attorneys and a nationwide team of outside counsel. He was responsible for all legal, regulatory and compliance matters and implemented several corporate governance initiatives.  

Strickland served as the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado from 1999 to 2001, where he handled significant environmental and civil rights cases. Strickland is known for his work in advancing conservation policy and his commitment to sustainable resource management. He has been a trusted advisor and leader in public policy and legal circles, with a focus on protecting America’s natural heritage.  

“We are thrilled to welcome Tom to the Direct Relief’s Board of Directors, and look forward to benefitting from his experience in public service and leadership,” said Mark Linehan, Direct Relief’s Board Chair. “Tom’s expertise and acumen compliment the organization’s mission to deliver medical aid to improve the health and lives of people in need around the world.” 

Direct Relief’s Board of Directors is comprised of accomplished individuals from various industries and sectors, all of whom contribute their expertise to the organization’s mission. The addition of Strickland strengthens the organization’s leadership as it continues to expand its reach and impact in response to global health crises and disasters. 

“I am honored to join the board of Direct Relief, an organization that is making a tangible difference in people’s lives every day,” said Strickland. “I look forward to working with my fellow board members and the dedicated team at Direct Relief to further their vital mission and help bring health and hope to those who need it most.” 

The Direct Relief Board of Directors may serve up to three three-year terms.

A full list of Direct Relief’s Board and leadership is available here.

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Direct Relief is awarding a grant of $50,000 to the nonprofit Jericho Road for mpox response, which will be used to fund prevention and treatment programs in the three IDP (internally displaced people) camps near their facility in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC. Jericho Road plans to operate and equip health checkup stations, temporary isolation units for mpox patients that are awaiting hospital transfer and hold mpox awareness and preventative health training.

The commitment comes as Direct Relief continues to coordinate vaccine delivery to countries most impacted by the mpox outbreak. On Sept. 12, officials from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 107 new deaths and 3,160 new cases had been recorded over the preceding seven days.

“We are extremely grateful for our continued partnership with Direct Relief. It is our mission to bring quality healthcare to our most vulnerable neighbors. We are committed to that effort, especially in this moment,” said Chantal Mandro, Clinic Director for Jericho Road’s Wellness Clinic in Goma, DRC. “The most recent financial support from Direct Relief will allow us to further support the folks living in the camps near our clinic and to keep our staff and their families safe, as we do so. At Jericho Road we strive to love our neighbor, as best we can.”

Direct Relief has worked with Jericho Road during previous outbreaks, including during the 2019 Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC. Direct Relief and Jericho Road worked to deliver PPE to the North Kivu provincial Department of Health, and the organizations are exploring the same approach as North Kivu is experiencing some of the highest rates of mpox in Africa.

The Jericho Road Wellness Center is based in Goma, DRC, near three large IDP camps in North Kivu, and the spread of mpox in these camps was noted as an area of concern by Africa CDC. The province of North Kivu is home to over 2.5 million internally displaced people, and conflict and insecurity throughout the region have caused the additional displacement of over 500,000 people in North Kivu over the last year, which has played a factor in the recent mpox outbreak.

“Direct Relief is honored to support Jericho Road’s Wellness Center, where staff are deeply committed to providing care to the community each day, and now are stepping up even more to help patients impacted by this outbreak,” said Jeffrey Samuel, Direct Relief’s Regional Director for Africa. “Protecting and equipping health workers is a top priority, and these funds and medical support will help staff deliver care at a time when it is urgently needed.”

Jericho Road’s Wellness Center receives an average of 200 patients per month from the camps, and through their relationship with the regional ministry of health, has access to the camps and the Provincial Hospital, which is the main referral center for mpox patients in Goma.

In addition to funds, Direct Relief is assembling comprehensive kits for medical providers and patients affected by mpox. Each kit includes personal protective equipment such as gloves, gowns, N-95 masks, goggles, and shoe covers to protect 100 healthcare workers. The kits also contain medications for pain management and skin irritation, wound care supplies, and disinfectant wipes for up to 1,000 patients.

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The provision of health services requires a continuous supply of electricity to power lights and diagnostic equipment, allow access to electronic health records, and maintain temperature-sensitive medications. Direct Relief’s expanded commitment seeks to address the increasingly frequent problem of health service interruptions during power outages caused by extreme weather, such as wildfires, heat waves, hurricanes, and flood-causing storms.

Direct Relief’s expanded effort builds on its ongoing support and emergency response efforts in all 50 states and territories of the U.S. to the network of nonprofit clinics and health centers that serve as the national healthcare safety net, providing care to over 38 million patients who, compared to the general U.S. population, have lower incomes, less wealth, include more people of all racial and ethnic minority populations, and have less access to needed primary healthcare services.

Extreme weather events and emergency situations create enhanced health risks for people who rely on nonprofit health facilities. Such events create new health risks and the need for expanded health services, even as the availability of services is likely to be severely reduced or lost due to power outages.

Direct Relief’s Power for Health Initiative provides grant funding to health clinics that serve vulnerable and underserved patient populations to cover the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of solar power and battery storage microgrids. The nonprofit clinics and health centers own the systems and derive 100% of the benefits – the resiliency benefits coming from batteries that provide power in the event of an outage, and the immediate and recurring financial benefits of reduced utility costs coming from generating their own electricity through the solar panels.

“Power outages are inconvenient for anyone, but they can be devastating for patients whose access to care is at their local nonprofit clinic or health center, when a prolonged blackout causes the facility to close or the loss of refrigerated medications, insulin, or vaccines – a scenario Direct Relief has unfortunately seen too many times,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief.

“Direct Relief is expanding the commitment because of the clear, urgent need that remains unaddressed and because the completed projects have successfully shown the obvious, essential benefits of ensuring care is available for people who need it most when most needed. Moreover, as a philanthropic investment, the financial benefits of this approach have proven to be powerful – the savings that occur each year effectively amount to an annual operating grant to the clinic, with the amounts over time far exceeding what Direct Relief could provide.”

The latest infusion of support is focused on bringing reliable power to U.S. nonprofit clinics and community health centers. Community health centers provide care annually for 1 in 11 people in the U.S. and serve as the healthcare home for America’s most vulnerable populations, including 1 in 5 of America’s uninsured, 1 in 6 Medicaid beneficiaries, 1 in 3 individuals living in poverty, according to the National Association for Community Health Centers. Free and charitable clinics are also part of the nation’s health safety net, and those clinics recorded 5.7 million patient visits in 2023, according to the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. More than 8 out of 10 patients were uninsured, according to NAFC, and reported living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

More Power for Health projects continue to come online at nonprofit clinics and health centers nationwide, with 20 completed projects in Puerto Rico, Louisiana, North Carolina, and California and dozens in the design and construction pipeline – including in Texas and Florida. The latest facilities where Direct Relief-funded resilient power systems have been completed include Harmony Health Medical Clinic (Marysville, CA), in an area prone to explosive wildfires, and Goshen Medical Center (Tabor City, NC), at high risk of hurricanes.

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ICN works to represent nursing worldwide, advance the nursing profession, promote the well-being of nurses, and advocate for health in all policies. ICN’s membership includes 130 national nursing associations representing millions of nurses worldwide.

The partnership has resulted in the appointment of an ICN Humanitarian Liaison Officer, who will use the global expanse of ICN’s member national nurses associations to rapidly access organizations on the ground.

The aim of the partnership is to use nurses’ insights to improve real-time intelligence about situations in specific communities and maximize the efficient deployment of Direct Relief’s disaster relief supply programs.

ICN Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton said the partnership is a perfect fit for both organizations and will make a real difference wherever humanitarian or disaster relief is needed.

“Nurses are deeply embedded in the communities where they live and work. They know both what the health and humanitarian needs are and how best to meet them, even in some of the most challenging situations and environments,” Catton said. “This knowledge and experience, partnered with Direct Relief’s expertise and commitment to the delivery of humanitarian aid, will help to ensure that the most vulnerable people get the quickest access possible to the specific aid and supplies that will help them the most.”

“During every disaster, Direct Relief relies extensively on local health providers to determine what is most needed and where. Nurses are at the forefront of that essential knowledge and patient care, particularly during crisis events,” said Alycia Clark, Direct Relief’s Chief Pharmacy Officer. “Direct Relief is privileged to work with the International Council of Nurses and their deep expertise across multiple specialties promises to guide and expand Direct Relief’s future emergency and humanitarian response.”

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The announcement was made at a July 23rd event at Ukraine House in Washington D.C., hosted by Direct Relief, The Ukrainian Ministry of Health, and the Ukrainian Embassy.

“The international non-profit organization Direct Relief has united powerful private companies and philanthropists in order to support Ukraine,” said Maryna Slobodnichenko, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine for European integration. “Thank you for such unceasing support.”

“Direct Relief remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting health services for the Ukrainian people as they continue to encounter enormous difficulties from the ongoing Russia attacks, said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief.

Direct Relief’s $10 million philanthropic commitment will support vital organizations including Unbroken, The Protez Foundation, and The Ukrainian American House. These funds will be allocated to address the following healthcare priorities, as identified by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health:

• Prosthetics and rehabilitation services for injured persons, now estimated to be more than 100,000 persons
• Resilient power solutions for healthcare facilities to ensure uninterrupted services, which are compromised by attacks on the country’s critical energy infrastructure
• Flexible primary care approaches to manage the health needs of displaced persons
• Access to essential medications, with a focus on rare diseases and specialty therapies
• Mental health and psychosocial support services for people who continue to be subjected to extreme risk, constant threat, and daily tragedies.

This new commitment builds upon Direct Relief’s ongoing support for Ukraine, which has included over $42 million in financial assistance and 2,480 tons of medical aid valued at $1.3 billion.

The medical material contributions total more than 341 million defined daily doses of medicines including insulin, cancer therapies, vaccines, cardiovascular drugs, respiratory treatments, and other resources, all in response to requests from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and local Ukrainian healthcare providers.

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“We are grateful for Thomas’ deep commitment to Direct Relief’s mission over the last 24 years and his unwavering servant leadership,” said Direct Relief board chair Mark Linehan. “This next stage at Direct Relief will build upon Thomas’s extraordinary vision and track record to ensure our continued success and growth. It will bring about new opportunities for growth and a recommitment to our mission as the Board begins its executive search to find the next person to support Direct Relief’s efforts to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty and emergencies globally.”

“It has been a privilege every day for nearly 24 years to be part of Direct Relief’s important work to help people in need overcome health challenges and enjoy the wonders of life,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “The organization’s simple humanitarian mission existed long before I arrived, and it remains essential and inspiring. I have complete confidence that Direct Relief will continue to serve people in a thoughtful, respectful, and efficient way and that the organization will thrive.”

Since arriving at the end of 2000, Tighe has overseen Direct Relief’s work as it expanded to become the fifth-largest charity in the United States and among the largest providers of charitable medications within the U.S. and globally. During Tighe’s tenure, funded entirely with private philanthropic support, Direct Relief has provided over $16 billion in essential medicines, equipment, and supplies and more than $350 million in grants to health organizations in 136 countries and all U.S. states and territories. Tighe has led the organization’s responses to domestic and international disasters, from the 2004 Asian Tsunami to Hurricane Katrina and Maria and the war in Ukraine, in which the organization’s ongoing support has exceeded $1.3 billion.

Since the year 2000, Direct Relief has been named among the world’s most innovative nonprofits by Fast Company, has been rated by Forbes as being 99 percent efficient or better in fundraising since 2001, won the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation, the CECP Director’s Award, the Esri President’s Award for GIS innovation, the Office of the Surgeon General’s National Leadership and Partnership Award, and became the first U.S. nonprofit to obtain NABP Drug Distributor Accreditation to distribute Rx medications in all 50 U.S. states.

Tighe will continue to serve as President and CEO through the end of the year to help ensure a smooth transition for the next President and CEO and continuity as Direct Relief continues its mission to serve people around the globe.

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A leader in providing medical humanitarian aid to those in need, Direct Relief is ranked fifth on the Forbes List of Top 100 Charities and earned a renewed four-star rating from Charity Navigator in 2024, America’s largest independent charity evaluator, for the 13th consecutive year.

“Direct Relief is excited to welcome these accomplished individuals to its board,” said Mark Linehan, Direct Relief’s Board Chair. “The expertise that each brings will strengthen and further the organization’s mission of mobilizing essential medical and other resources across the U.S. and around the world.”

The new directors are:

Henrietta Holsman Fore recently served as the seventh Executive Director of UNICEF. Prior to taking up this appointment, she served as both the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance in the U.S. State Department. From 2005 to 2007, Ms. Fore served as Under Secretary of State for Management, the Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Department of State. Prior to that, she was the 37th Director of the United States Mint, a position she held from 2001 to 2005.  Currently Ms. Fore serves as the Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International, a manufacturing and investment company.

Heitham Hassoun, MD, serves as the Chief Executive of International at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California. In this role, he leads the institution’s international patient services as well as global strategy and operations. He joined Cedars-Sinai in 2018 as vice president and medical director of International. He is a highly regarded clinician and healthcare leader with a wealth of experience in global partnerships, international patient services, health system development, and academic medicine.  Dr. Hassoun shepherded Cedars-Sinai’s first global affiliation as well as several academic and strategic collaborations in China, Ecuador, Indonesia, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. He also has overseen the expansion of Cedars-Sinai’s regional offices in multiple countries, including China, Mexico, and Singapore. In addition to leading International, Dr. Hassoun is a professor of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai and maintains a clinical practice in vascular and endovascular surgery. Prior to Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Hassoun served as global medical director at Johns Hopkins Medicine and as an associate professor in the Department of Surgery at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Perry Siatis is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, where he is responsible for Legal and the Office of Ethics and Compliance. He is credited with negotiating highly successful global business deals, navigating complex government policy, and providing strategic legal guidance for multiple billion-dollar brands. Mr. Siatis began his career by practicing commercial and intellectual property (IP) litigation at DLA Piper LLP. He joined Abbott in 2005 as Counsel and progressed to Division Counsel, IP Litigation, and later became Divisional Vice President and Section Head, IP Strategy. In January 2013, Mr. Siatis joined AbbVie where he served as Vice President, Biologic Strategic Development and Legal Regulatory. He also served as the Senior Vice President of Legal Transactions and R&D/Alliance Management and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. In 2020, he led the legal strategy for the acquisition of Allergan, one of the largest acquisitions in pharmaceutical history.

The Direct Relief Board of Directors may serve up to three three-year terms.

A full list of Direct Relief’s Board and leadership is available here.

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Direct Relief, the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC), and Teva Pharmaceuticals today announced an expansion of medicine donations through their collaborative mental health access program into seven new states to advance access to healthcare for uninsured patients seeking treatment for anxiety and depression.

Through “Community Routes: Access to Mental Health Care,” Teva will continue to provide free and charitable clinics with $2 million in grant funding over two years and make available, on a charitable basis, a portfolio of commonly used generic medications that treat anxiety and depression. Medicines will be available to free and charitable clinics and pharmacies in Direct Relief’s network. The annual value of these medicines provided by Teva is over $17 million this year alone, as determined by their wholesale acquisition cost.

This announcement expands the program’s medicine donations into seven new states: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, increasing the program’s potential reach to more than 650,000 uninsured patients through 400+ eligible free and charitable clinics across ten total states. The seven new states announced today were selected based on the program’s ability to maximize patient impact, which was determined by assessing unmet needs and the presence of a strong network of free and charitable clinics in each state.

The program was launched in June 2022, following which the pilot states of Florida, New Jersey and California received product donations and subsequently grant funding to selected clinics.

“As the need for mental health support surges, access to care for people living with anxiety and depression is more pressing than ever,” said Thomas Tighe, CEO and President of Direct Relief. “Direct Relief is deeply grateful to Teva for demonstrating such leadership and dedication and welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the NAFC and Teva to provide patients with the resources necessary to lead happier and healthier lives.”

“We continue to face a mental health crisis across the U.S. and those directly impacted deserve access to treatment, regardless of background or economic status,” said Sven Dethlefs, PhD, Executive Vice President, North America Commercial at Teva. “Teva is committed to the pursuit of health equity and will continue to bring forward its expertise and resources to help ensure medication availability for anxiety and depression.”

“Free and Charitable Clinics are critical to providing care to underserved communities,” said Nicole Lamoureux, President and CEO of NAFC. “We’re appreciative of Direct Relief and Teva’s partnership as we chart new strategies to alleviate healthcare inequities and provide access to medicine for some of the most vulnerable among us.”

“Since the pandemic began, addressing mental health has continued to be a priority for our clinic,” shared Fred Bauermeister, Executive Director at Free Clinic of Simi Valley. “With these donations, we have been able to increase access to medications that treat anxiety and depression for the uninsured or underinsured members of our community, generating both progress and a sense of hope.”

A third of adults in the U.S. show symptoms of anxiety, depression, or both. Notably, more than 5.5 million adults with a mental illness are uninsured, and almost a third of all adults with a mental illness reported they could not receive the treatment they needed.2 Additionally, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial minorities have experienced higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to their white counterparts. Depression was 15 to 23 times more prevalent for those who identify as Black, Hispanic or Asian.

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The shipments contained 7.8 million defined daily doses of medication, including cardiovascular medication, nutritional supplements, cancer care therapies, and more.

This week, a shipment containing needles, syringes, sutures, PPE and over half a million (540,000) KN95 masks, and 46 pallets worth of antibiotics arrived in Lebanon in coordination with local NGO, Anera. Anera will distribute the critical supplies to hospitals and clinics in the region.

UKRAINE RESPONSE

Over the six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Direct Relief has secured and shipped more than 890 tons of requested medicines and supplies to more than 400 healthcare delivery sites in Ukraine and neighboring countries. That includes 155 million defined daily doses of medication to address a wide range of acute and chronic health needs.

Direct Relief, as a recognized international partner of Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, is continuing its scaled-up response along the two parallel tracks of supporting those affected by war in Ukraine and those forced to flee their homes to neighboring countries.

To date, Direct Relief has awarded emergency financial support totaling $15.9 million to help sustain and bolster the provision of health care in Ukraine and to support healthcare services for Ukrainian refugees in Poland and Moldova.

Operational Snapshot

WORLDWIDE

This week, Direct Relief shipped more than 6.6 million defined daily doses of medication outside the U.S.

Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 417 shipments containing 1.2 million doses of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:

YEAR TO DATE (GLOBAL)

Since January 1, 2022, Direct Relief has delivered 12.7K shipments to 1,848 healthcare providers in 53 US states and territories and 85 countries.

These shipments contained 388.6M defined daily doses of medication valued at $1.2B (wholesale), totaling 9.6M lb.

IN THE NEWS

• Direct Relief Works With Ukrainian Ministry of Health and Global Drug Makers to Deliver 890 Tons of Medical Aid to Ukraine – CSR International: “Under a collaboration agreement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health is working with Direct Relief to secure medicine donations from pharmaceutical manufacturers, enabling the use of Direct Relief’s existing contractual and working relationships, smoothing the processes of securing the drugs and then ensuring their timely delivery.“
• S.C. has more than climate vs. wildfires – The Times and Democrat: “Nearly 70% of the U.S. population across parts of every state in the continental United States, except for Georgia and South Carolina, experienced at least one day of heavy- or medium-density wildfire smoke in July, according to an analysis by Direct Relief’s research and analysis team of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.“
• Cities, Data, and the Needs of Ukrainian Refugees – Data & Policy: “The focus on cities and novel data sources in the context of the rapidly evolving Ukrainian refugee crisis was the organizing principle of a workshop on June 27th and 28th, co-hosted by the CrisisReady collaboration between Direct Relief and Harvard University, and the mayor’s office of Budapest.”

The post Critical Support for Lebanon, Ukraine, 12 Total Countries appeared first on Direct Relief.

Under a collaboration agreement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health is working with Direct Relief to secure medicine donations from pharmaceutical manufacturers, enabling the use of Direct Relief’s existing contractual and working relationships, smoothing the processes of securing the drugs and then ensuring their timely delivery. Direct Relief has secured and delivered critical medical aid (with over 10% of the pallets requiring cold-chain handling and logistics) specifically requested or approved by the Ministry of Health since the war began. Direct Relief began its collaboration with Ukraine’s Ministry of Health in the year before the invasion working together to provide monoclonal antibody therapies to help address the large Covid-19 outbreaks in the country.

Novo Nordisk Manufactures Insulin Specifically for Ukraine Donation

Among the large prescription medicine donors is Novo Nordisk A/S, which has provided many different types of human and analog insulin for Direct Relief’s humanitarian response in Ukraine, including a large donation of insulin that was manufactured to donate specifically for Direct Relief’s humanitarian efforts. In total, the Denmark-based company has helped meet the needs of tens of thousands of patients with diabetes.

“While we are still deeply concerned with the ongoing aggression against Ukraine, we are grateful that we have been able to team up with Direct Relief, other humanitarian actors and the Ministry of Health to safeguard the supply of our lifesaving medicines to the people who depend on them in Ukraine. I would like to extend my gratitude to the staff of Direct Relief, who work tirelessly in times of crises to serve unmet needs for health care around the world,” said Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, President and CEO of Novo Nordisk.

Pfizer Donates Critical Anti-infective and Other Medicines to Direct Relief for Ukraine

Pfizer has been among the largest donors to Direct Relief’s response in Ukraine, providing lifesaving therapies to address severe bacterial and fungal infections, as well as medicines to treat patients with Covid-19 infections, which was very important given the recent Covid-19 waves that impacted Ukraine over the past six months. In addition, Pfizer provided various chronic disease medicines and therapies to address uncontrolled bleeding (critical for trauma and wound victims) and chemical warfare antidotes. Pfizer made these donations to Direct Relief’s Ukraine response from the United States and its European affiliates.

Caroline Roan, Pfizer Senior Vice President of Global Health and Social Impact, said: “Ensuring critical medicines continue to reach patients impacted by this tragic and challenging war is paramount to Pfizer. We are committed to contributing to ongoing humanitarian efforts that support the safety, health and wellbeing of people affected by these terrible events. We are very proud to be one of Direct Relief’s largest donors in this program – as part of our broader humanitarian commitments in support of the people of Ukraine, and complementing our efforts to improve access to healthcare worldwide.”

Baxter Donates 10 Truckloads of IV Fluids, Dialysis-Related Products, and More for Ukraine

Baxter International Inc. made one of the largest donations by volume, delivering to Direct Relief more than ten truckloads of critical medical products needed for Ukrainian patients with trauma and wounds, as well as vulnerable patients with renal conditions that required dialysis.

Given the critical need within Ukraine, Baxter provided the products from its facility in nearby Poland, allowing more time to get these essential medicines where they are needed.

“We are deeply grateful to the Direct Relief team for their incredible actions in Ukraine and surrounding countries and are proud to have supported their efforts with donations of more than 100 different types of Baxter products. Our longstanding partnership has been a critical factor in our response efforts as we collaborate on community health needs in the region,” said ​Cristiano Franzi, ​Senior Vice President, and President, EMEA, Baxter International Inc.

The list of pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers that made large product donations through Direct Relief (and examples of the types of products provided) to benefit the Ukrainian people include:

• 3M: various wound care dressings and products, N-95 masks, and stethoscopes
• Abbott: diabetes meters and test strips, OTC medications, and infant baby formula
• AbbVie: anesthesia and medicines to treat ocular conditions, thyroid conditions, and cancer
• Accord Healthcare: essential and chronic disease medicines
• Ajanta Pharma: type 2 diabetes medicines
• Alvogen: essential and chronic disease medicines
• Amgen: specialized cancer medications, steroids, and antibiotics
• AmerisourceBergen: bandages and wound care products
• Apotex: essential and chronic disease medicines
• AstraZeneca: respiratory inhalers, cancer therapies, and chronic disease medicine
• Baxter International Inc.: nephrology, anesthesia, surgical products, and IV fluids
• Bayer: antibiotics for hospitalized patients with serious respiratory or skin infections
• Boehringer Ingelheim: type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular medications, and bronchial inhalers
• ConvaTec: wound dressings
• Eli Lilly: various types of insulin, and therapies to treat cancer, mental health conditions and Covid-19
• Grifols: human albumin for hospitalized patients with severe conditions
• GSK: essential chronic disease medicines to treat infections, epilepsy, and mental health conditions
• Hikma: essential, nephrology, chronic disease, and oncology medicines
• ICU Medical: IV catheters and IV solutions
• Johnson & Johnson: medicines for mental health conditions, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes
• LifeScan: diabetes meters and test strips
• McKesson: consumable medical products
• Meitheal Pharma: cancer therapies and muscle relaxants used as an adjunct to general anesthesia
• Medtronic: sutures, skin stapler, catheters, and surgical mesh
• Merck KGaA, Germany: medicines for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid conditions
• MSD / Merck & Co.: antibiotics, oral Covid-19 therapies, type 2 diabetes medicines
• Novo Nordisk A/S: various types of insulin, including a sizeable manufacture-to-donate batch for Ukraine
• Organon: cardiovascular disease medicines
• Pfizer: medicines for infections, uncontrolled bleeding, and chronic disease, Covid-19 antiviral medication, chemical warfare antidotes
• Sanofi – through Foundation S: hypodermic needles for medicine injections
• Takeda: medicines for nephrology, hemophilia, gastrointestinal conditions, inflammation, and human albumin
• Teva: medicines for infections, edema, pain, respiratory conditions, and other chronic diseases
• Viatris: medicines for infections, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases

The post Direct Relief Works with Ukrainian Ministry of Health and Global Drug Makers to Deliver 890 Tons of Medical Aid to Ukraine appeared first on Direct Relief.

The insulin, manufactured and provided to Direct Relief by the drug maker Eli Lilly and Company, was delivered to Ukraine over the past two weeks and will be allocated by Ukraine’s Ministry of Health to hospitals, clinics, and programs treating people with diabetes around the country.

There are 2.3 million adults living with diabetes in Ukraine in 2022 – one in every 14 adults – 40% of whom are undiagnosed, according to the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas. All people with Type 1 diabetes and roughly 30% of people with Type 2 diabetes require daily insulin injections, while many depend on other medications to control the condition.

Direct Relief and its partners estimate that Ukraine needs 115,000 10 ml vials of long-acting insulin per month. In this single supply of medicine, Lilly provided 673,000 quick-injection pens, each containing 3 ml of long-acting insulin glargine, equivalent to 202,191 10 ml vials, or enough to cover Ukraine’s needs for more than seven weeks.

When a person has diabetes, their body doesn’t make enough insulin to control their blood sugar level, making them susceptible to health problems including heart disease, blindness, lower-limb amputations and more. Diabetes is among the world’s most widespread and most harmful noncommunicable diseases. In 2021 alone, diabetes caused an estimated 6.7 million deaths and at least $966 billion in health expenditures worldwide, according to the IDF, which has worked closely with Direct Relief in planning and facilitating large-scale insulin donations to countries in crisis around the world.

“IDF expresses its immense gratitude to our partner Direct Relief for the organization’s quick and efficient mobilization of resources to deliver medical supplies and aid to support Ukrainian citizens living with diabetes,” said Prof. Andrew Boulton, president of IDF. “In times of crises, when resources are scarce, caring for diabetes can be extremely difficult. People living with diabetes require uninterrupted access to the medicines and care they need to manage their condition and prevent life-threatening complications. IDF’s long-term partner Lilly has been incredibly generous in supporting people with diabetes affected by the war in Ukraine. We applaud this latest donation of insulin, which will help bolster the country’s supply of this essential medicine.”

People with diabetes take long-acting insulins like the insulin glargine donated by Lilly once a day to provide a baseline insulin level in their blood. Most people who depend on injected insulin also need short-acting insulin to level their blood sugar after meals.

“Lilly recognizes the challenges people continue to face in Ukraine in accessing essential medicines like insulin. This collaboration with Direct Relief is critical to ensuring our medicines reach the healthcare providers and patients who need them,” said Michael B. Mason, president of Lilly Diabetes.

The huge charitable supply of insulin is the latest action in Direct Relief’s extensive aid for Ukrainians with diabetes since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Since then, Direct Relief has secured and delivered 1.4 million insulin quick-injection pens, 733,800 insulin pen needles, 188,833 10 ml insulin vials, nearly 25,000 glucose meters with 400,000 test strips, and over 3.2 million oral diabetes tablets equivalent to almost 1.5 million daily defined doses. Direct Relief has also provided a $150,000 grant to the Ukrainian Diabetes Federation (UDF) for managing and distributing insulin and diabetes-related medical supplies and testing equipment.

Under a bi-lateral partnership agreement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health is working with Direct Relief to secure medicine donations from pharmaceutical manufacturers, leveraging Direct Relief’s existing relationships, smoothing the processes of securing the drugs, and ensuring their timely delivery. Lilly supplied the insulin to Direct Relief, which arranged cold-chain transportation to Kyiv to benefit Ukrainian patients. Since the war erupted, Ukraine’s government has been covering access to insulin for its population with diabetes.

“Direct Relief is deeply grateful to Lilly for its leadership and commitment reflected in this donation for the people of Ukraine,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief president and CEO. “Lilly’s support is an incredible example of what’s needed to address this crisis from a humanitarian standpoint.”

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Direct Relief has provided more than 900 tons of requested medical aid to Ukraine and neighboring countries hosting Ukrainian refugees.

The post Ukraine Receives Seven-Week Supply of Long-Acting Insulin from Direct Relief appeared first on Direct Relief.

According to a newly released survey commissioned by Direct Relief, most people (53%) expect disasters to get worse where they live but are largely unprepared for these increasingly severe and frequent emergencies.

With more than half of Americans foreseeing an uptick in the severity of disasters, thinking through a preparedness plan is critical.

Continue reading to view the survey results.

Emergency Planning Resources

Medications and medical conditions

Many Americans either take medication or have an ongoing medical condition, and findings suggest a significant portion of these people would either have difficulty continuing their medications or finding aid for their illness during an emergency.

• Three in four people (76%) would worry about their health if they could not access their medications during an emergency, and concern increases with age. Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) people 77 or older would worry if they couldn’t access their medications in an emergency; yet, a little more than a third (37%) say that they would have a week (7 days) or less of medication on hand if they had to evacuate right now.
• Over seven in 10 (72%) Americans do not have a backup supply of critical medications.
• Nearly eight in 10 (78%) do not have accessible medical records and copies of prescription information.
• One in two (50%) Americans have not put their medical documents online in case they lose access to other forms of documentation during an emergency.
• Americans, on average, ranked their medication refills as their third most pressing concern (M=5.14) and getting access to medical care as their fifth most pressing concern (M=4.49), while people aged 65+ ranked medication refills as their second most pressing concern – above their pets.
• About half (47%) of Americans with a chronic medical condition (N=1,736) would not know where to access medication during an emergency.

Power and health

• Power outages are of concern to 94% of respondents who indicated they or someone in their household relies on medical equipment or appliances that require running electricity.
• Just over a third (34%) of respondents said they or someone in their household relies on medical equipment or appliances that would not be able to function without electricity. Yet, only 23% reported having a backup generator.
• The percentage of people with generators is uneven nationwide, with people in Louisiana (46%) and Florida (28%) more than two times as likely as Californians (13%) to own a generator.

Income disparities

Higher-income people have more access to the resources they need if an emergency arises. Survey data gleans the specifics on ways income disparities between higher and lower-income households affect people throughout the US.

Lower-income households were less likely to have an emergency supply of non-perishable food and cash. They also were more likely to report having smaller stockpiles of medication and to say their homes don’t have enough space to stockpile for an emergency.

• Almost three in five (58%) Americans in households making less than $50,000 each year (N=887) say they do not have a 3-day supply of non-perishable food. In contrast, 56% of Americans in households making $100,000 or more per year (N=359) say they have a 3-day supply of non-perishable food for emergencies.
• 72% of Americans in households making less than $50,000 annually (N=887) say they do not have cash on hand in case of an emergency. Unsurprisingly, well over one in two (54%) of Americans in households that bring in $100,000 or more per year (N=359) report having emergency cash on hand in case of an emergency.

• A third (33%) of Americans do not or are not sure they have enough room in their home to stockpile essentials for a potential emergency, but 67% say they do have the space.
• Four in five (80%) Americans in households that bring in $100,000 or more each year (N=359) claim they have enough room in their home to stockpile essentials for a potential emergency. In comparison, 41% of Americans in households with an income of $50,000 or less (N=887) report they would not, or are not sure whether they would, have enough room in their home to stockpile essentials for a potential emergency.
• Nearly 1 in 4 (24%) Americans do not feel they could rely on their neighbors in an emergency, compared to over half (54%) saying they could depend on their neighbors.
• Under half (49%) of Americans in households with incomes of less than $50,000 (N=887) feel they could rely on their neighbors in an emergency; however, almost two-thirds (64%) of Americans in households with incomes of $100,000 or greater (N=359) feel they could rely on their neighbors in an emergency.

Evacuation Planning

Findings suggest that many know where to go but don’t have an evacuation plan.

• Most people in the US (61%) say they would know where to evacuate, and nearly two in five (39%) would not know where they would go if they had to evacuate.
• About half of people living in the western US (46%; N=720) would not know where to go if they had to evacuate.
• Americans ranked “identifying escape or evacuation routes” as their top priority when preparing for an impending natural disaster (M=5.58). “Identifying places for shelter if evacuation is not possible” was ranked, on average, as the third highest priority (M=5.35) – just behind having enough water (M=5.46), which ranked second.

Methodology 

Direct Relief commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 2,009 Americans across various states with frequent weather-related emergencies (i.e., natural disasters).

Select states include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington State.

The margin of error for the overall sample is +/- 2 percentage points with a confidence interval of 95 percent. Fieldwork took place between July 22nd and July 27th, 2022. Atomik Research is an independent market research agency. 

The post Millions in the US Could Face Medical Crisis in a Disaster appeared first on Direct Relief.

The BD Helping Build Healthy Communities Innovations in Care award recognizes U.S. community health centers for excellence in helping vulnerable patients manage their complex chronic diseases and improve their overall health. This year’s awardees will receive a grant for $270,000 each to build upon the demonstrated impact their novel care approaches have on at-risk populations. All four community health centers also received the Innovations in Care award in 2021.

The supplemental funding will enable the health centers to continue enhancing impact through holistic, culturally sensitive, team-based care and by providing pharmacist-led patient education and counseling. The funding will also be used to help remove barriers to care by addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) — including where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship and their age, all of which affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

“Racial and ethnic minorities in the United States are more likely to experience worse health outcomes for complex chronic conditions, yet less likely to receive preventive health services,” said Tom Polen, chairman, CEO and president of BD. “We are directly addressing these health inequities by investing in community health centers that help ensure underserved patients receive quality care. These centers are located in high-need areas, available to all regardless of their ability to pay, and deliver culturally relevant care to meet the specific needs and priorities of their communities.”

The following Innovations in Care 2022 award winners are:

• Healthnet in Indianapolis, Indiana, is using its grant funding to expand a diabetes education program to assess and proactively address the behavioral health and SDOH needs of pre-diabetic and diabetic patients so they can manage their diagnosis and live a healthy lifestyle. The grant is also helping fund a clinical dietitian to provide proactive outreach and nutrition education for at-risk patients.

• Northeast Valley Health Corporation in San Fernando, California, is using its grant funding to ensure high-risk Hispanic patients have the opportunity to meet with a clinical pharmacist for medication reconciliation and adherence counseling, and to offer assessments based on SDOH. Funding will also enable a bilingual patient navigator to connect patients with social services that address identified needs, in addition to the creation of an automated patient risk assignment to provide more customized services and referrals by a patient care team.

• Share Our Selves in Costa Mesa, California, is using its grant funding to enable patients who face multiple chronic conditions and take multiple, complex medications, to receive individualized care coordination including medication delivery, medication synchronization, patient education, remote monitoring device training and virtual visits with pharmacists. Additional funding is being used to enhance technologies that will better integrate patient SDOH data alongside their medical information to create more impactful interventions.

• Wahiawa Center for Community Health in Wahiawa, Hawaii, is using its grant funding to support the creation of an integrated care team and care model to address chronic disease, particularly within Asian and Pacific Islander communities. This team approach seeks to improve medication adherence to prevent health complications associated with chronic disease and cultural, social, economic and environmental challenges like poor health literacy and a lack of food and housing. The addition of a population health coordinator provides a dedicated resource for collecting and tracking more in-depth data on SDOH, hemoglobin A1c, health screening tools and comprehensive diabetes services throughout the year.

Thomas Tighe, president and CEO of Direct Relief said, “This effort is an extraordinary example of leadership by BD to award and elevate initiatives from community health centers that improve the health and lives of people with chronic health conditions. Direct Relief is deeply grateful to BD and to NACHC for their collaboration and support.”

“Health centers are more than healers. Health centers are problem-solvers who reach beyond the walls of the conventional health care delivery system to address the social drivers of health, such as stable housing, food insecurity, mental health and so much more,” said Rachel A. Gonzales-Hanson, interim president and CEO of NACHC. “Private funding partnerships made possible by BD and Direct Relief are essential to support innovative approaches that health centers bring to foster wellness and health equity in underserved communities.”

The BD Helping Build Healthy Communities initiative, which is funded by BD and the BD Foundation, and implemented jointly by Direct Relief and NACHC, has provided 52 awards to community health centers in 20 states since 2013, with a total investment of $22.6 million in cash and product donations. Click here for more information on the company’s environmental, social and governance commitments and progress.

For more information about the 2022 winners of BD Helping Build Healthy Communities Innovations in Care award, click here.

The post BD, Direct Relief and National Association of Community Health Centers Advance Health Equity in the U.S. with a $1 Million Grant appeared first on Direct Relief.

Over the same period, an estimated 28.6 million people, or nearly 9 percent of the US population, experienced one or more days of heavy smoke.

According to NOAA, medium and heavy smoke density refers to the thickness of smoke observed in satellite imagery. Medium smoke density is meant to approximate between 10-21 micrograms per cubic meter, and heavy smoke density is intended to approximate 21-32 micrograms per cubic meter.

Broad exposure to smoke from wildfires has occurred despite this year seeing the fewest acres burned since 2014.

Last month alone, an estimated 1.44 million people across the US experienced seven or more days of heavy-density wildfire smoke.

Most locations that have endured such conditions over the past month are in Alaska, with Fairbanks being the most populous, though areas in California, Montana, and Idaho have been subject to at least seven high-density smoke days.

Though often associated with western US states, several Midwest and eastern states have also experienced at least one heavy smoke day, including vast swaths of Minnesota and Iowa as well as regions of New York and Pennsylvania.

Several studies have shown a link between wildfire smoke events and “significant” increases in hospital emergency department visits, especially for respiratory and cardiovascular ailments. These increases, particularly related to asthma and respiratory diseases, as well as cardiovascular diseases, can begin within a day or two of the events and continue for several weeks or more afterward, according to Helene G. Margolis, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

“Children, people with preexisting chronic diseases, and children in utero are definitely susceptible, across the life course,” Margolis said about people exposed to extended periods of either wildfire smoke or traffic-related pollution.

Some medical conditions associated with repeated exposure include respiratory diseases, deficits in lung function, asthma, allergies, chronic obstructed pulmonary disease, and altered immunology.

After prolonged exposure to traffic-related pollution, decreased lung function has also been reported in children.

“You can almost certainly expect that wildfire smoke is contributing to that,” Margolis said.

Wildfire smoke exposure can also lead to a higher risk of contracting Covid-19 and other illnesses since wildfire smoke and air pollution can “alter the efficacy of immune response,” Margolis said.

Both wildfire smoke and air pollution can trigger inflammation in a person’s airways, causing elevated inflammatory markers to occur throughout the body, she said, which can be particularly dangerous to people with metabolic syndrome.

smoke hits differently

Though smoke blankets an area, it does not affect all people in that area equally. Key differentiating factors include where a person lives, including the ability to either seal their home or leave, underlying health conditions, and financial circumstances, including the ability to buy air filters and avoid outdoor work.

“Some studies have shown that more vulnerable populations may experience a larger impact for the same event,” said Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, Ph.D., a professor at North Carolina State University’s College of Natural Resources, noting that not all vulnerable populations are the same.

As one example, focusing on non-medical factors, Richmond noted having air conditioning can “make a big impact.”

“As climate change progresses, there are not only more fires, but those with the means can close up their homes [during a wildfire smoke event]. Without air conditioning and with 90-degree heat, you’re going to have to open your windows,” Richmond-Bryant said.

While both traffic-related air pollution and wildfire smoke can carry serious risks, wildfire smoke carries unique risks owing to its compositions, which vary based on a range of factors, including where and what it is burning and how it acts in the atmosphere.

“Wildfires are occurring with substantially higher concentrations of particulate material than regular ambient air pollution,” Richmond-Bryant said.

“A lot of locations with older growth forests were around in the days of leaded gasoline. You might have wood with trace amounts of lead. Or they might have been around during a time of coal power, more than we have now, meaning mercury may have been embedded,” she said.

In addition to natural materials, Richmond-Bryant and Margolis said that human-made materials can also increase the toxicity of wildfire smoke – an increasing problem as people continue to move into formerly undeveloped, forested areas.

“A mid-20^th century house might have lead paint and become part of the air combustion mixture. You also have a lot of plastic materials,” Richmond-Bryant said.

“Those chemicals carry much higher toxicity risk,” said Margolis about plastics and other human-made materials.

A study on the 2018 Camp Fire showed that its smoke contained “dangerous” and “concerning” levels of particulate matter and toxic metal contaminants, including lead, “which spiked for about 24 hours.”

Margolis said that issues around wildfire smoke figure to increase due to climate change and other ongoing trends.

“Given climate change and the drying of the landscape, the conditions have become increasingly arid. When you factor in more things like forestry management, these events are happening earlier, they last longer, there’s more fuel, so the magnitude, length, and the duration of exposure to wildfires is greater,” Margolis said.

“It’s going to have downstream consequences,” Margolis said.

Direct Relief has been responding to wildfires for decades and most recently shipped dozens of requested emergency field medic packs to the California National Guard to support their response to the ongoing wildfires in northern California. Each pack is equipped with triage and medical essentials, including infection control supplies, trauma care, diagnostics, and PPE.

Michael Robinson, Crisis Mapping and Data Science Specialist at Direct Relief, contributed to this article.

The post Two in Three People in the US Were Exposed to Significant Wildfire Smoke Last Month appeared first on Direct Relief.

Direct Relief has extended offers of assistance to Kentucky-based organizations and agencies, including the Kentucky Primary Care Association.

At least four clinic locations have been completely destroyed in the flooding, and several are without water or stable electricity. Staffing is also a challenge as many healthcare employees have sustained substantial personal losses of property and vehicles.

Immediate medical supplies needed include:

• Hepatitis A shots
• Tetanus shots
• Insulin, glucometers, strips, constant readers, supplies
• Oxygen, concentrators, tanks, masks
• IV fluids and tubing
• Nebulizer tubing
• CPAP machines
• EPI pens

The organization maintains a standing inventory of medical aid frequently requested during emergencies. In the past year, the organization has responded to crises from Louisianna to California with requested materials ranging from insulin to solar generators.

Since January 2022, Direct Relief has provided nonprofit health centers and clinics in Kentucky with more than $1.3 million in requested medical aid.

Direct Relief is preparing to mobilize needed medical supplies this week and will continue to provide updates as the situation evolves.

The post Direct Relief Commits an Initial $250,000 to Kentucky Relief Efforts appeared first on Direct Relief.

The paper, titled “The impact of clinical pharmacist-led comprehensive medication management on diabetes care at Federally Qualified Health Centers within the BD Helping Build Healthy Communities program,” describes a study commissioned by BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, along with Direct Relief and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), which found that patients enrolled in a comprehensive medication management program at federally qualified health centers (FQHC) saw their Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) scores decrease by 1.2% in six months — equating to an estimated 20% lower risk of death. Evaluated decreases are clinic average gains and are an important first step to better informing integrated patient management programs with the goal of mitigating the consequences of life-threatening chronic diseases at the patient level.

The study analyzed clinical pharmacy approaches at eight federally qualified health centers that received funding through the BD Helping Build Healthy Communities grant initiative, which was established in 2013 and funded by BD and the BD Foundation, and implemented by Direct Relief and NACHC in order to support comprehensive medication management services for low-income patients. Clinics were evaluated for two years and included awardees from 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“It’s easy to prescribe medication, but to actually maximize the benefit that the patient gets from that medication requires comprehensive medication management that goes beyond the typical 15-minute provider visit,” said Dr. Sonak Pastakia from Purdue University School of Pharmacy, lead author of the study. “We found that when patients review their diagnosis and coinciding medications with a team, led by a clinical pharmacist, as well as social workers and behavioral health specialists, the health outcome of their chronic disease improve beyond what is seen in a typical clinical visit.”

FQHCs are community-based providers that receive funding under the Public Health Service Act in order to provide primary care services in underserved areas and often work under significant budget constraints despite caring for nearly 30 million patients annually, 67% of whom earn an income below the federal poverty line. Because standard Medicaid coverage does not often reimburse health care providers for novel programs like comprehensive medication management, non-federal funding sources like philanthropic investments are instrumental in helping health centers care for vulnerable patient populations.

This is especially true of people living with diabetes as a 1% drop in their average blood sugar over 3 months (i.e., glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c]) can save the health care system an estimated $685 to $950 annually per patient, while also reducing the risk of serious longer-term health issues.

Damon Taugher, vice president of Global Programs at Direct Relief and a co-author of the paper, said, “This study goes a long way toward proving the hypothesis that underpins the BD Helping Build Healthy Communities program — that investing in health centers positively impacts clinical outcomes for patients.”

Jennifer Farrington senior director of BD social investing and vice president of the BD Foundation, added, “We launched the BD Helping Build Healthy Communities program with Direct Relief and NACHC nearly a decade ago to address the disparity in which health care was being provided to vulnerable patients and populations across our health systems. We partnered with community health centers in high-need areas of the U.S. to help enable them to provide culturally relevant care that meets the needs of their patients and their community. As part of our ongoing commitment to building stronger, more resilient communities, we will continue to serve as a valued partner to community health centers as we work toward advancing access to equitable health care.”

Chief Medical Officer of NACHC, Ron Yee, said, “Nationwide, we see the successful results of this collaboration with Community Health Centers in the field. Pharmacists work with each patient through face-to-face visits, telehealth, patient education, medication management, addressing medication access concerns through the discount 340B drug program and monitoring, and providing follow-up in collaboration with the primary care provider. Health centers are caring for increasing numbers of patients who are older and suffering from multiple chronic health conditions. Medication management is essential to improving their health and lowering the risk of hospitalization.”

Read the full paper: The impact of clinical pharmacist-led comprehensive medication management on diabetes care at Federally Qualified Health Centers within the BD Helping Build Healthy Communities program – Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy

The post Clinical Pharmacists Significantly Improve Patient Outcomes, Advance Health Equity appeared first on Direct Relief.

Aid aboard the FedEx Express Boeing 777 cargo aircraft included substantial quantities of emergency medicines and supplies, including health kits, trauma and wound care items, chronic disease and chemical exposure medications, and antibiotics. All items were provided at the request of, and approved by, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health and local Ukrainian organizations. Direct Relief team members were on site for the offload and the aid will be distributed to health facilities within Ukraine.

“As the war enters its fourth month, Direct Relief’s support and solidarity remain steadfastly with the people of Ukraine,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “In addition to the heartbreaking loss of life and human toll, the war has had a devastating impact on health services in the country, and Direct Relief is committed to bolstering care with a continuous supply of medical aid. FedEx has created a powerful force multiplier for good with this most recent charter, and it’s an incredible example of what’s needed to address this crisis.”

Since February 24, Direct Relief has provided more than 750 tons of medical aid in response to the crisis, from field medic packs — which contain items to address trauma, including tourniquets and wound dressings — to diabetes and cancer medications.

“It is gratifying to be able use our global network to support these critical missions, and with this charter flight we hope to make a small contribution to what is still a major humanitarian situation.” said Karen Reddington, regional president of Europe, FedEx Express.

FedEx has donated more than $2.3 million in humanitarian aid to support those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine, including $1 million that has been allocated for in-kind shipping with the company’s longstanding nonprofit partners. Utilizing its global network and unparalleled logistics expertise, FedEx has been able to help organizations including Direct Relief, Heart to Heart International, International Medical Corps, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and World Central Kitchen, respond during this crisis. Learn more at fedexcares.com.

The post FedEx and Direct Relief Deliver 52 Tons of Critical Medical Aid for Ukrainians appeared first on Direct Relief.

Direct Relief is awarding $650,000 to Together New Orleans’ Community Lighthouse project to fund the construction of the first solar- and battery-powered resilience hub in the Gulf South at CrescentCare community health center, which provides health and wellness services to underserved populations in the City of New Orleans.

The grant is part of Direct Relief’s new Power for Health Initiative, which seeks to ensure that vulnerable nonprofit community health centers and charitable clinics in the U.S. stay powered and remain operational through increasingly common power outages resulting from natural disasters and electrical grid failures. The Community Lighthouse at CrescentCare will be the largest solar+battery system Direct Relief has funded outside of Puerto Rico.

“Crescent Care provides essential health and supportive services every day that people rely on, and those services become even more critical during emergencies that bring on new risks to people’s health,” said Thomas Tighe, president and CEO of Direct Relief, which has worked in all 50 U.S. states and100 countries, and has a longstanding relationship with CrescentCare dating back to Hurricane Katrina. “That’s why it’s a privilege for Direct Relief to help ensure that those services can be maintained when power is lost, which is happening more frequently. People in New Orleans know this better than anyone, and why the CrescentCare project on its own and as part of the Community Lighthouse initiative are so important and offer a powerful example of taking thoughtful action.”

New Orleans ranks among the top 10 cities in the U.S. for power outages from severe weather, which have doubled nationwide over the last 20 years, and the frequency and length of power failures are at their highest levels since reliability tracking began.

Following Hurricane Ida, nearly one million New Orleanians lost power; some residents remained in the dark more than one month later.

For community health centers like CrescentCare, the loss of power meant the lack of access to critical health services, including lifesaving medicines, COVID shots, electronic health records and essential medical equipment. Establishing a Community Lighthouse at CrescentCare will go a long way toward alleviating such problems in the wake of future disasters.

“As a community health center, CrescentCare has worked through countless weather events, including Hurricanes Katrina and Ida. We intimately know the effects of storms on our healthcare systems, our staff, our clients, and our neighbors,” said CrescentCare CEO Noel Twibeck. “The support from Direct Relief shows a profound commitment to the health and wellbeing of our city. We are honored to be the first commercial space included in the Community Lighthouse Project and we look forward to further expanding the resilience of our services for our city.”

The Community Lighthouse Project is a new initiative of Together New Orleans that envisions the creation of a community-wide network of 85-100 resilience hubs across south Louisiana, each powered by commercial-scale solar systems with backup battery capacity, that will be able to assess need and provide assistance to surrounding neighborhoods during power outages. The initiative was conceived by TNO in the fall of 2021 after its leaders realized the need for a sustainable solution following the catastrophic power outages caused by Hurricane Ida.

When power outages occur, Community Lighthouses will be able to conduct needs assessments and provide for those needs by offering charging stations/small battery distribution, food preparation and distribution, cooling/heating stations, oxygen exchange/light medical equipment, and, in the case of CrescentCare, basic healthcare services.

With Tuesday’s announcement of Direct Relief’s grant and an earlier commitment of $1 million from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Together New Orleans is well on its way to raising the funds for the Community Lighthouse pilot phase of 10 locations.

The post Direct Relief Announces $650,000 Grant to Build One of Nation’s Largest Solar Resilience Hubs in New Orleans  appeared first on Direct Relief.

“Charitable givers should feel confident that these national institutions put their donations to good use.” – Charity Navigator.

Charity Navigator’s 2022 Best Charities List

The post Ten of the Best Charities Everyone’s Heard Of – Charity Navigator appeared first on Direct Relief.

Mary M. Dwyer, PhD, Lieutenant General Stayce D. Harris, and Tim Wertner began their respective three-year terms on June 24, 2021.

“Direct Relief is privileged to welcome these impressively accomplished individuals to our board and looks forward to leveraging the unique perspectives and passions that they bring to expand on the organization’s mission to mobilize essential medical resources across the U.S. and around the world,” said Pamela Gann, Direct Relief’s Board Chair.

Mary M. Dwyer, PhD, served from 1996-2020 as President & CEO of IES Abroad, one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most academically reputable not-for-profit study abroad program providers in the world. She is now President & CEO Emerita.

Dwyer is preeminent in the field of international higher education, particularly the study abroad field, both with respect to U.S. university students studying outside the United States, and foreign students from East Asia studying in universities in the United States. She is the first female CEO of a study abroad provider, and she has made considerable efforts to support women in the study abroad field. Prior to IES Abroad, Dwyer was a faculty member in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) for 18 years and the campus Executive Associate Vice Chancellor for Research.

Dwyer has consulted extensively during her career and been called upon by an array of U.S. and international organizations across 20 developed and emerging countries, including the World Health Organization (WHO), Global Ministries of health and education, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She was a founding member, Board Vice Chair, and Board Chair of the Forum on Education Abroad. She was also one of two study abroad professionals appointed by the U.S. Congress to serve on the Abraham Lincoln Commission on Study Abroad, a bi-partisan, Presidential and Congressional Commission formed in 2003 to explore ways to increase the number of American students abroad. She is also featured on the Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Women Executives Over 50 list, recipient of the PIEoneer Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry and the Lifetime Advocate for Inclusivity Award from Women in International Education.

Lieutenant General Stayce D. Harris is a retired three-star general whose distinguished career of service spanned over 37 years before retiring in March 2019 from the U.S. Air Force. From 2017-2019, General Harris’ C-suite executive experience included leading as the Inspector General of the Air Force and prior as the Air Force Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director, Air Staff at Headquarters U.S. Air Force in the Pentagon.

As the 22nd Air Force Commander at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, GA for the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command from 2014-2016, her responsibilities included leading tactical airlift operations, civil engineering rapid response, distinguished visitor airlift and pilot training. She served at multiple levels in her career as a senior executive with over 18 years’ experience running large technology organizations involved in aerospace transportation, engineering, logistics, human capital management, crisis management, international relations, ethics and compliance. General Harris has received many awards and decorations including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit. She was the first African American woman to command an Air Force operational flying squadron, wing and numbered Air Force. She also served as the first woman Inspector General of the Air Force.

She was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame and Palm Springs Air Museum Aviation Hall of Fame, awarded the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Captains of Industry Award, USC Viterbi School of Engineering Mark A. Stevens Distinguished Alumni Award and Ellis Island Medal of Honor amongst others.

She is also a retired United Airlines pilot and serves as a Director of the Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, a Board of Councilor for the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and Trustee for the U.S. Air Force Academy Falcon Foundation.

Tim Wertner is Senior Vice President of U.S. Operations, Western Division, for FedEx Express. Wertner has worked for FedEx since 1986 in multiple roles, including Vice President of the Memphis World Hub, Senior Vice President for Air Ground Freight Services, and Senior Vice President of U.S. Domestic Express Operations.

In his current role at FedEx, Wertner develops operational strategies for more than 50,000 employees, 3 million daily packages, 375 daily flights, and with an annual operating budget of $4.2B. Wertner has managed operational and capital budgets, cold chain facility implementation, as well as logistics planning for domestic and international flight deliveries. A Fortune 100 Leader with a strong background as a proven leader in service, people management and generating superior financial returns, Wertner has a demonstrated record of exceeding profitability goals.
In addition to Direct Relief’s Board of Directors, Wertner also serves on the board of Intelvative. He is a passionate advocate for Women in Aviation. He is also a managing officer with the On Deck Program, a FedEx Global mentorship program that trains and mentors employees for leadership.

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On Jan. 14 and 15, dozens of Brazilians asphyxiated in the Amazonas state capital of Manaus after oxygen supplies ran out, according to the Washington Post. “There is a collapse in the health-care system in Manaus,” Brazilian Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said at the time. According to the Post, Manaus is short by the amount of oxygen needed for 70 critical patients per day.

Local facilities in Amazonas can produce less than half of the daily oxygen supply needed for patients in Manaus, a city of 2.2 million people, isolated in the vast Amazon rain forest with no drivable highways connecting it to the rest of Brazil. Additional oxygen comes by truck from Venezuela, by week-long boat trip from eastern Brazil, or flown in by the Brazilian Air Force.

During the first wave of the pandemic last April, Manaus became the first city in Brazil forced to bury Covid victims in a mass grave. So many of the city’s residents had been infected by mid-2020 that researchers thought the city was becoming a natural experiment with herd immunity.

Instead, a new surge hit the city in December, and by January, more than 100 people a day were dying in the city. Worse, according to the BMJ, many new patients are infected with the P.1 variant of the Covid virus, which appears to have evolved to make it more infectious.

On January 25, Amazonas Governor Wilson Miranda Lima issued a global appeal for oxygen and other medical supplies:

“This second wave has hit us with colossal force… Right now, the ‘Lungs of the Earth’ need oxygen. We are in dire need of medical and hospital supplies, medical oxygen, and resources for the logistical support in order for these materials to be delivered as quickly as possible in the proportion and speed that Amazonas needs.”

Direct Relief responded to the plea, granting $530,000 for purchasing an estimated 350 oxygen concentrators needed to help keep the region’s Covid patients alive.

Direct Relief made the grant to the Foundation for Amazon Sustainability. The donation was facilitated by the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCFTF, an international collaboration of state and provincial governors) and Health Bridges International (HBI, a health-focused NGO), which sought a solution to the Amazonas oxygen crisis and turned to Direct Relief.

The first 240 concentrators arrived Saturday in Manaus. The Amazonas Secretary of the Environment, Eduardo Taveira, will oversee their distribution.

“The priority is to serve rural areas and avoid the impact of the second wave on the most vulnerable communities,” Mr. Taveira said.

Oxygen is one of the most common treatment needs for patients sick with Covid-19, as the disease lowers the lungs’ ability to absorb oxygen from the air. Oxygen concentrators pull oxygen directly out of the air rather than requiring cylinders filled with oxygen, at a time when oxygen tanks and other oxygen delivery technologies have been in short supply around the world.

This is only the latest in a long series of actions Direct Relief has taken over the past year to provide oxygen to patients who otherwise wouldn’t receive it. As word of the disease spread in January 2020, Direct Relief assessed the likely needs for medicine and equipment and began securing supplies. Among these supplies were thousands of oxygen concentrators that the organization ordered and has delivered to health providers across 45 countries, including the U.S. — from Arizona and Los Angeles to Lebanon and Yemen.

“Ending a pandemic that threatens everyone demands the type of international collaboration exemplified here by the government of Amazonas, FAS, GCFTF, HBI, and others,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “This project will deliver life-saving support to communities in need, and we are so grateful that the aforementioned partners joined forces to execute as quickly as possible.”

The post Direct Relief Donates $530,000 to Bring Oxygen to Covid-Stricken City in the Brazilian Amazon  appeared first on Direct Relief.

The shipments contained more than 6 million defined daily doses of medication, including a temperature-sensitive monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid-19 from Eli Lilly that arrived in Rwanda.

In the US, Direct Relief delivered 448 shipments weighing 45.4 thousand lbs and containing 1.2 million doses of medications.

The largest US shipments by value (wholesale) went to the following organizations:

• Wellness Pointe, Texas ($290.4K)
• North Beach Community Health Center, Florida ($194.8K)
• Community Health, Illinois ($184.6K)
• HIV Alliance, Oregon ($169.4K)
• Clinica Esperanza Hope Clinic, Rhode Island ($161.2K)
• Palmetto Health Council, Inc., Georgia ($142.8K)
• HP Health, Texas ($101.3K)
• Agape Clinic, Texas ($91.9K)
• Kintegra Family Medicine, North Carolina ($80.6K)

Globally, Direct Relief shipped this week more than 4.9 million defined daily doses of medication totaling 30.2k lbs.

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Items included Covid-19 treatments, chemotherapy medications, antibiotics, diabetes management products, and protective gear.

The following organizations received supplies:

• Asociacion Vida Peru, Peru ($1.9M)
• Health Ministry, The Republic of Armenia ($1.9M)
• Ministerio de Salud, Honduras ($192.1K)
• Karabakh Health Ministry, Armenia ($176.2K)
• Ministry of Health, Rwanda ($166.7K)
• Muratsan University Hospital Endocrinology Clinic, Armenia ($146.5K)
• ANERA, Lebanon ($89.3K)
• Ebeye Community Health Center, Marshall Islands ($71.4K)
• Saint Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, Armenia ($68.3K)
• The Claudia Nazarian Medical Center at the AGBU Vahe Karapetian Center, Armenia ($67K)
• Diabetes Association of Jamaica, Jamaica ($38K)
• Servicios de Salud de Morelos, Mexico ($15K)
• Ministerio de Salud, Nicaragua ($14K)
• Institute of Perinatology Obstetrics and Gynecology, Armenia ($9.5K)

In addition to providing material assistance, Direct Relief granted $530,000 to the Foundation of Amazon Sustainability to purchase oxygen concentrators as the Brazilian state of Amazonas faces a worsening Covid crisis and a severe lack of medical oxygen. Hospitals and health centers in 24 municipalities currently treating the most Covid-19 patients, including indigenous communities, will receive the equipment.

Year to Date

Since January 1, 2021, Direct Relief has delivered 2,637 shipments to 1,068 partner organizations in 51 US states and territories and 62 countries. These shipments contained 47.8 million defined daily doses of medication value at $178.5 million (wholesale) and totaled 1.4 million lbs. (700 tons).

Other grants from Direct Relief this year have supported the following organizations:

The post 448 Medical Aid Shipments. $530,000 in Funding. 42 US States and Territories. 10 Countries. 1 Week. appeared first on Direct Relief.

In the year since, Direct Relief has emerged as one of the largest charitable providers of personal protective gear (PPE) and critical care medications globally, having delivered more than 82 million units of PPE, 173 million defined daily doses of vital medicines, and 36 thousand pieces of diagnostic and intensive care equipment to thousands of local organizations across 100 countries, including the U.S.

The organization has also supported health care providers with more than $50 million in direct financial assistance to sustain care and expand services that include mobile and pop-up testing sites, telehealth expansion, and greater cold chain capacity.

For an overview of Direct Relief’s activities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, please continue reading.

Financial Summary

Covid-19 Pandemic Donations

Jan. 27, 2020 – Jan. 27, 2021

Direct Relief does not accept government funding. Its work is made possible entirely through the support of companies, organizations, foundations, and individuals.

The organization recognizes that supporters who made generous contributions of funding, services, and in-kind goods amid the pandemic did so with the specific intent that their contributions fight Covid-19 and its devastating consequences. In accepting funds as part of its Covid-19 response, Direct Relief understands that these supporters deserve to know precisely how those funds have been and will be disbursed.

Direct Relief received more than 151,000 financial contributions designated for Covid-19, totaling $125.8 million.

Some of these Covid-19-designated donations also had additional restrictions from donors requiring the funds be used for a particular region or country. All designated funds have been respected, administered, and disbursed accordingly.

How Were Funds Used

Direct Relief initiated its Covid-19 response activities using general operating funds. As Direct Relief began receiving funds donated for Covid-19, it expanded its activities and spending accordingly. The situation remains dynamic, with designated funds continuing to be accepted. Direct Relief takes great care to deploy incoming funds responsibly, efficiently, and as rapidly as possible, consistent with donors’ intent.

The following offers a snapshot of the total Covid-19 donations received over the past year:

To date, Direct Relief has spent or committed a total of $83.5 million in cash (66% of the $125.8 million received) in its pandemic response — which continues at high-pace.

Of that amount, $40.8 million has been spent or committed as direct grants to organizations on the frontlines of the pandemic, $35.6 million has been spent on purchasing essential medical items not available through donation, and $7.1 million was spent to distribute all material and financial assistance provided in response to Covid-19, as described below.

Covid-19 Response

By the numbers

Jan. 27, 2020 – Jan. 27, 2021

Grant Making

Medical Aid

Protective Gear

Medical Material Support

Direct Relief has been responding to the pandemic since its earliest days, beginning with requests for help from overstretched hospitals in Wuhan, China. From there, Direct Relief’s response quickly expanded to the United States and the rest of the world.

Since Jan. 2020, the organization has provided support to more than 3,000 partner organizations fighting Covid-19 worldwide.

As of Jan. 27, 2021, that support has included more than 29,000 medical aid shipments totaling 4.9 million pounds and valued at $1.3 billion. Medical aid has reached organizations in 55 U.S. states and territories and 100 countries.

Material support has taken several distinct forms:

• Supplies to protect frontline health workers: Direct Relief provided masks, gloves, gowns, powered air-purifying respirators, face shields, and other PPE to health care organizations globally.
• Medical resources for intensive care: As the pandemic strained hospital resources, the organization provided ventilators, oxygen concentrators, and ICU medications to help overstretched hospitals treat patients with critical cases of Covid-19.
• Ongoing support for chronic health: To minimize interruptions to essential health services, including primary and specialty care, maternal and child health services, mental health treatment, and substance use disorder interventions, Direct Relief provided a wide range of support — chronic health medications, the overdose-reversing medication naloxone, midwife kits, and more.

Direct Relief arranged for and managed the logistics, transport, and delivery of all products to health facilities – free-of-charge.

Direct Financial Assistance

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, designated contributions have allowed Direct Relief to bolster the health care system with financial assistance and support the efforts of locally run organizations with strong ties to their communities.

Thanks to corporate and individual donors’ generosity, Direct Relief has granted more than $53 million in cash worldwide since Jan. 27, 2020.

Grant recipients include health centers, clinics, and locally run organizations providing vital care, testing, and other health care services during the pandemic. These grants helped sustain strained health facilities, keep patients out of hospitals, maintain continuity of care, and fund Covid-19 testing and vaccinations.

For a list of health care facilities and organizations worldwide that have received direct funding from Direct Relief in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, click here.

Covid-19 Response

By Region

United States

• Grants Disbursed: $48.6 million
• Material Aid Provided: $284.3 million
  • Shipments: 28.8 thousand
  • PPE: 21.3 million units
  • Medications: 48.6 million Defined Daily Doses
  • ICU Kits: 178
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 1,046

Americas

• Grants Disbursed: $405 thousand
• Material Aid Provided: $341 million
  • Shipments: 260
  • PPE: 8.2 million units
  • Medications: 61.1 million Defined Daily Doses
  • ICU Kits: 84
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 1,497 units

Asia

• Grants Disbursed: $1.3 million
• Material Aid Provided: $169.6 million
  • Shipments: 234
  • PPE: 4.1 million units
  • Medications: 15.6 million defined daily doses
  • ICU Kits: 58
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 420 units

Africa

• Grants Disbursed: $1.26 million
• Material Aid Provided: $489 million
  • Shipments: 234
  • PPE: 42.4 million units
  • Medications: 27.9 million defined daily doses
  • ICU kits: 73
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 326

Europe

• Grants Disbursed: $503 thousand
• Material Aid Provided: $33.1 million
  • Shipments: 50
  • PPE: 1.4 million units
  • Medications: 1.5 million defined daily doses
  • ICU kits: 4
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 524

Applied Research and Analytics

Even before the pandemic, Direct Relief had facilitated emergency managers’ use of population movement and other data for decision-making purposes, including in Texas, California, and Michigan.

When Covid-19 hit, it was immediately apparent that this kind of data would be an essential tool for analyzing social distancing effectiveness.

In March of 2020, Direct Relief, with researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, established the Covid-19 Mobility Data Network. The network, comprised of a group of about 70 infectious disease epidemiologists and other researchers, began creating simple, usable data projects to help public health officials and policymakers understand the impacts of social distancing measures in a given area.

Officials have used the group’s research and information tools in the UK, Spain, Italy, India, Australia, Botswana, Chile, and other countries. The data used for these analyses is hosted on the UN’s Humanitarian Data Exchange, allowing governments worldwide to receive support or analyze the data themselves.

While the Covid-19 Mobility Data Network was convened because of an emergency, Direct Relief and the researchers wanted to ensure that similar data would be readily available in a clear and actionable form and on an ongoing basis for future crises, including wildfires and hurricanes.

CrisisReady, working with the World Bank, is in the initial stages of creating a global emergency response network, which will launch in March-April of 2021.

In addition, Direct Relief is funding two researchers whose essential work combines population movement data and health crisis analysis: Pamela Martinez at the University of Illinois and Amy Wesolowski at Johns Hopkins University.

Among the resources developed by Direct Relief to inform and track its pandemic response are the following:

• The Covid-19 International Vulnerability Index examines population movement data and information about case counts, hospital beds, and other vulnerability indicators to generate actionable information and analysis.
• The United States forecast map draws on anonymized data to predict the spread of Covid-19.
• The United States pandemic response tracker shows Direct Relief’s distribution of medical aid across the country.
• The international pandemic response tracker shows the organization’s global distribution.

Looking forward

The remaining funds designated for the pandemic will enable Direct Relief to continue its worldwide response, focusing on:

1. Supporting vaccination efforts

• Expanding cold-chain storage and transport at hospitals and health centers and providing coolers for mobile vaccination campaigns.
• Providing needles and syringes to administer vaccines.
• Supplying PPE to health workers giving vaccinations.
• Funding education, awareness, and outreach campaigns at health centers and hospitals, particularly in poor communities and communities of color.
• Employing digital tools and artificial intelligence to determine low vaccine uptake areas and provide that information to policymakers and public health officials.
• Funding health centers that experience reimbursement gaps after administering vaccines.
• Increasing Direct Relief’s internal capabilities to receive, store, and distribute the vaccine.
• Supporting the opening of large-scale vaccination sites with funding and supplies.
• Providing back-up power sources to health care sites at risk of power loss, which can destroy vaccines.

2. Addressing Covid-19 gaps in hardest-hit areas

• Funding health initiatives in primarily minority communities hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic.
• Providing grants to health care providers in the United States and around the world struggling to care for patients affected by Covid-19.
• Continuing to provide critical care medications, oxygen concentrators, and ventilators to hospitals worldwide caring for Covid-19 patients.
• Supplying PPE to providers unable to access these lifesaving supplies reliably.
• Establishing and funding Covid-19 treatment and isolation wards ensures that low-resource areas have the resources to care for Covid-19 patients safely.
• Providing health care support for Covid-19 patients to recover at home, freeing hospital beds for more critical cases.

3. Continuing support for people with other health care needs:

• While global health resources are diverted towards preventing and treating Covid-19, fundamental health care needs continue.
• Babies continue to be born. The number of people with chronic conditions like diabetes and cancer is only growing. And children with diabetes, hemophilia, and rare diseases still need lifesaving therapies.
• As the pandemic continues, Direct Relief will continue to provide the essential medical aid required for their care.

Thank You

Direct Relief’s extensive ability to provide a wide range of medical aid, from PPE to medications intended for critical cases of Covid-19, would not have been possible without in-kind and financial donations from dozens of pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, with air transport and logistical services provided by FedEx.

Many of these organizations work closely with Direct Relief on an ongoing basis to fund and supply humanitarian projects and programs. However, the outpouring of support from corporate partners, both new and ongoing, has been unprecedented during the Covid-19 pandemic. Direct Relief is deeply grateful for their generosity and commitment.

Included among them are:

The post Covid-19 Relief: One-Year Report on Use of Funds and Response Activity appeared first on Direct Relief.

Direct Relief’s overall revenue in its 2020 fiscal year included $1.82 billion in donated medicines and services (up 36% from last year) and $171 million in private cash contributions (up 81% from last year).

FORBES: AMERICA’S TOP CHARITIES 2020

As one of the world’s primary channels for humanitarian medical aid and the only global nonprofit recognized by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as an Accredited Drug Distributor, Direct Relief partners with and seeks in-kind contributions from businesses and organizations of goods and services. As such, in-kind donations, which the organization provides without charge to qualified health care organizations for patients in need, typically represent more than 90% percent of Direct Relief’s total annual revenue.

Contributions to Direct Relief during this period — a year that saw a deadly pandemic and a near-constant series of climate-driven disasters — coincided with an unprecedented spike in demand for the organization’s services. Direct Relief responded by providing more humanitarian assistance than ever before in its 72-year history to every U.S. state and 99 other countries worldwide.

Overall, the medical-material support provided by Direct Relief increased from the prior fiscal year to 5.2 million lbs. (up 73%) with a wholesale value of $1.4 billion (up 29%) and included 223 million Defined Daily Doses of requested medications (up 71%).

In the U.S. alone, Direct Relief’s stepped-up efforts in response to the concurrent crises of the largest-ever wildfires, the most active hurricanes in U.S. history, and the Covid-19 pandemic included 26 thousand deliveries of requested medications, supplies, and over 13 million units of PPE. These resources bolstered the efforts of more than 2,400 healthcare providers in medically underserved areas and to hospitals and public agencies dealing with surging caseloads across the U.S.

The outpouring of public generosity also enabled Direct Relief to disburse more than $43 million in cash grants to more than 500 nonprofit community health centers and free and charitable clinics in the U.S. The communities and patients served by these organizations include high percentages of persons from racial and ethnic minority groups who have experienced the highest rates of Covid infections, hospitalizations, and deaths since the pandemic began. The financial support helped bolster their shaken financial status, enhance safety measures for their frontline staff, and stand up community responses in their home communities.

In the Forbes 2020 ranking, Direct Relief received a score of 100% for charitable commitment (how much of a charity’s total expense went directly to the charitable purpose) and 100% on fundraising efficiency (the percent of private donations remaining after deducting fundraising costs).

Direct Relief accepts no government funding and is supported only by private, charitable contributions, and values donated medicine and supplies at wholesale prices (see https://www.directrelief.org/about/finance/).

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AbbVie’s commitment to help launch Direct Relief’s new Fund for Health Equity will support Direct Relief’s efforts to expand and improve healthcare services offered by health centers, clinics, and other local organizations with the long-term goal of strengthening health services for Black Communities across the nation.

“AbbVie’s extraordinary philanthropic commitment announced today will provide financial support to expand access and strengthen health services in Black communities through locally run nonprofits including federally qualified community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and other community based efforts,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “These locally run organizations understand better than anyone both the challenges that exist and what works, and in the case of community health centers, have demonstrated for more than 50 years unmatched commitment and provably effective results. But, private philanthropic support has been very limited, which is why AbbVie’s recognition and strong leadership is so deeply appreciated and so important. It will allow these organizations to do more of what they do best and help redress chronic disparities in health that the COVID-19 pandemic has tragically highlighted and made worse.”

“Direct Relief’s focus on medically underserved Black communities across the U.S. will make a long-term, measurable impact on people’s lives,” said Karen Hale, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, AbbVie. “This targeted funding and its concurrent evaluation will allow for continuous improvement and innovation of quality health care for Black communities, and we hope this donation serves as a catalyst for future investments.”

Among other activities in recent months, Direct Relief has disbursed over $35 million in financial support to community health centers and free & charitable clinics in communities of color that have been disproportionately affected and particularly hard-hit by COVID-19.

The post Direct Relief Announces $10 Million Commitment from AbbVie to Support Reduction in Health Care Disparities for Black Communities appeared first on Direct Relief.

The recipient programs span 10 U.S. states and are a mix of urban and rural initiatives that will work to create greater health equity among the country’s most vulnerable communities. The awards program is implemented by Direct Relief and is funded by The Pfizer Foundation.

The community health centers and free clinics will undertake program approaches including:

• Mobile vans and pop-up clinics to improve patient access and reduce barriers to care
• Telehealth and health technology to improve patient care and safety
• Community partnerships to expand reach and strengthen trust within target populations
• Outreach and education to address stigma and misperceptions
• New uses of electronic health records to standardize clinical care and track progress
• Use of community leaders to build trust and promote healthcare activities

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing systemic health inequities, resulting in vulnerable patients and their loved ones experiencing even greater hardship,” said Caroline Roan, President, The Pfizer Foundation and Chief Sustainability Officer, Pfizer Inc. “We are proud to support Direct Relief and its network of frontline safety-net clinics across the U.S. to break down barriers to good health in underserved communities and increase access to life-saving infectious disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.”

“These awards are intended in part to allow providers to test and improve new care models and solutions, which is of utmost importance as healthcare is drastically changing due to COVID-19,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “We are humbled by the dedication of these largely unheralded safety-net health providers to improve the lives and health of the people they care for.”

Some of the recipient providers reflect a wider trend among health clinics—ramping up vaccination campaigns against common inflections like seasonal flu that can help to strengthen future vaccine delivery, including potential COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. Others include innovative ways of reaching more marginalized and vulnerable patients.

The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas serves a population whose immunization rates for children and adults have historically fallen far below the state average, with only half of eligible adults vaccinated against pneumonia and less than 40% receiving annual flu shots. The center has proposed an ambitious initiative to help control infectious disease throughout 10 southeast Kansas counties. The plan includes an outreach team to provide immunizations at area companies, mental health centers, churches, shelters and jails, as well as a redesign of its service delivery model to “triage” every adult patient for gaps in protection against infectious disease and make the appropriate vaccine(s) available at no out-of- pocket expense. At the same time, this effort will create the infrastructure for a COVID-19 immunization campaign once a vaccine is available.

Harbor Health Services in Mattapan, Mass., proposed a program aimed at keeping vulnerable elderly patients out of hospital emergency rooms, reducing their risk of exposure to the coronavirus that is especially dangerous to the elderly. The initiative will provide preventive and emergency care to participants in their homes. Harbor Health’s patient data shows that 50% of hospital emergency room visits were preventable and avoidable; the two most common reasons for ER visits included urinary tract infections and unspecified dementia, both of which can be treated in the patient’s home.

In Chicago, Esperanza Health Centers has introduced its Comprehensive Southwest Side HIV Services Program, providing bilingual and bicultural HIV education, prevention, screening and care in Chicago’s Southwest Side Latinx communities. Within two years, it aims to double the number of individuals receiving HIV primary care and pre-exposure prophylaxis at its clinics, and increase the proportion of patients screened for HIV to 90%.

In Palm Springs, Calif., the Desert AIDS Project aims to reduce the rapidly rising incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), in particular syphilis, in the region it serves. The program will increase STI testing, treatment, education and risk-reduction counseling, both through on-site treatment in its clinic and through its mobile testing unit, reaching patients that may not otherwise come to the clinic.

Direct Relief managed the application and selection process, in consultation with a panel of infectious disease physicians who provided a clinical review.

2020 Award Recipients

• Cherokee Health Systems, Knoxville, TN
• Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc., Douglas, AZ
• Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Pittsburg, KS
• Desert AIDS Project, Palm Springs, CA
• Esperanza Health Centers, Chicago, IL
• Grace Medical Home, Orlando, FL
• Harbor Health Services Inc., Mattapan, MA
• Lawndale Christian Health Center, Chicago, IL
• Public Health Management Corporation, Philadelphia, PA
• Westside Family Healthcare, Wilmington, DE
• Zufall Health Center, Dover, NJ

The post Direct Relief and The Pfizer Foundation Support 11 New Programs to Improve Infectious Disease Care in the U.S. appeared first on Direct Relief.

The $2.5 million investment aims to triple Direct Relief’s medical refrigeration and freezer capacity. Direct Relief’s current validated-for-vaccine cold-storage warehousing can hold up to 40 million doses of vaccine in 10-dose-per-vial packaging within the typical 2-8-degree Celsius temperature range but lacks larger-volume freezer capacity that some Covid-19 vaccines may require.

The organization is in discussions with national and state health authorities, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and pharmaceutical donors about Covid-19 vaccine distribution plans.

Direct Relief is one of the world’s primary channels for distributing donated charitable medications—including vaccines and other cold-chain medications (those requiring constant, carefully controlled refrigeration)—to people who otherwise would not have access. In the United States, Direct Relief is a central conduit for distributing such medications to nonprofit safety-net providers, including community health centers. These providers are critical in reaching underserved communities, and specifically people of color, who have been disproportionally affected by Covid-19.

Direct Relief’s state-of-the-art pharmaceutical distribution center, which opened in 2018 in California, is one of 665 facilities in the United States accredited by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as an Accredited Drug Distributor and is the only one operated by a global humanitarian aid organization.

While the specific temperature-management requirements for various Covid-19 vaccines remain unknown, Direct Relief believes global cold-chain capacity is far below what is needed for rapid, mass-vaccination efforts to immunize the U.S. population, much less the global population.

“Direct Relief is taking this step with urgency, recognizing the pressures that exist in getting approved vaccine to people who need it in a safe, secure way,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “Existing cold-chain channels were not built to support this scale of activity. The situation echoes the severe challenges that arose with the allocation and distribution of PPE—which did not require specialized licensing to handle, store, or track, as do prescription drugs and vaccines.”

Direct Relief has extensive experience working with the world’s largest medical manufacturers to distribute cold-chain prescription drugs, vaccines, and biologic therapies connected with humanitarian and emergency-response efforts.

In the fiscal year ended June 30, Direct Relief completed 2,103 cold-chain deliveries of such products, managing end-to-end distribution to health facilities across the United States and 33 other countries. These deliveries included 738,000 vials of insulin from Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi for patients with Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes; cancer treatment drugs from Amgen, Teva, Takeda, and Baxter; blood-clotting hemophilia treatments from Bayer, Takeda, Pfizer, and Kedrion Biopharma; and biologic therapies from Takeda and Biogen for patients with rare genetic diseases.

Direct Relief has been responding expansively to Covid-19 since reports first arose in January of cases in Wuhan, China, and the Western United States. Since Direct Relief’s first Covid-19 aid delivery on Jan. 27, the organization sent 21,083 medical aid shipments to 2,786 health facilities in 54 U.S. states and territories and 88 countries. These shipments contained 3.2 million lbs. (1,600 tons) of medical essentials, including more than 38 million N95 and surgical masks, more than 7 million gloves, more than 1 million face shields, and tens of thousands of protective suits and other items to help safeguard health workers and care for patients, as well as including 76.9 million Defined Daily Doses of medications, with a value of $747.6 million (wholesale acquisition cost).

“Because Direct Relief is a public-benefit nonprofit with the specialized licensing, capacity, and experience required for cold-chain vaccine distribution, we will do whatever we possibly can to pitch in and backstop public agencies that have their hands more than full,” Tighe said. “We also want to ensure that those most in need, whom our organization supports every day and have suffered disproportionate effects from Covid-19, have a channel to support them.”

The post Direct Relief Prepares for Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution, Investing $2.5 Million to Expand Cold-Chain Capacity appeared first on Direct Relief.

In the largest mobilization of private resources to protect Africa’s frontline health workers from COVID-19, a new 30+-member coalition today announced it has begun delivering nearly 60 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to countries across sub-Saharan Africa in the initiative’s first round.

The COVID-19 Action Fund for Africa is working in partnership with Ministries of Health to meet the essential PPE needs (including surgical masks, gloves, eye protection and more) of up to one million community health workers serving over 400 million people during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the only known effort to date that pools resources for PPE for community health workers in Africa.

The Fund is anchored by a $10 million commitment from Direct Relief, with additional support from Crown Family Philanthropies, and in-kind contributions from over thirty collaborating partners. In partnership with the Fund, the World Food Programme has committed to provide donated freight and logistics worth more than $1 million. The Fund seeks to raise up to $100 million to supply PPE to community health workers in as many as 24 African countries for approximately one year.

“This is a valiant and essential effort to mobilize PPE to protect our frontline heroes: community health workers,” says Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity and former Rwandan Minister of Health. “By preventing the spread of disease across their communities while ensuring the continuum of primary care, community health workers play a central role in all epidemics, especially COVID-19. As such, it is essential that we, as a global community, ensure they are respected, supported, and protected.”

Responding to estimated needs verified directly by Ministries of Health in each country, the initiative has thus far purchased an initial 25 million surgical masks, 35 million gloves, 822,000 face shields and 974,000 isolation gowns for the initiative. It is transporting the PPE to the ports of entry in each of the African countries, where local partners will deliver the supplies to the community health workers in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The PPE will fill the equivalent of nine 747 cargo jets and weigh 441 metric tons. The first 500,000 pieces have been shipped from Direct Relief’s California warehouse, of which some have arrived in Lesotho and Zimbabwe; shipments are in progress for as many as 10 additional countries in first round.

Community health workers (CHWs) are healthcare workers who extend the reach of primary health care systems to communities otherwise underserved by formal health systems. They are recruited from and serve the communities in which they live and work. Community health workers contribute to significant improvements in health priority areas such as reducing child undernutrition, improving maternal and child health, expanding access to family planning services, and contributing to infectious disease control for HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis.

“We visit households. We advise women to take their children for immunizations. We advise women to start their antenatal care visits on time. We manage other cases, like malaria. We need PPE just like any other health worker so we can protect ourselves and our community” – Euniter Adoyo, community health worker supervisor, Lwala Community Alliance and Kenya Ministry of Health, Migori County, Kenya.

While a global shortage of PPE is affecting all health workers, the brunt has fallen on low- and middle-income countries and community health workers in particular. In the absence of PPE, community health workers put themselves and the people they serve at risk. The current drop in access to PPE in Africa has already been followed by a 203 percent increase in COVID-19 infections among health workers. The experience of past epidemics, including the 2015 West African Ebola crisis, has shown that disruption of essential health services often leads to higher mortality rates than the epidemic itself.

As of Aug. 10, there were over 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the African continent and more than 20,000 deaths. COVID-19 threatens to reverse health and economic progress of recent years, as projections suggest its economies could lose nearly $200 billion in GDP in 2020.

About the COVID-19 Action Fund for Africa:  The Fund is a continent-wide collaborative effort  to aggregate and address the unmet need for COVID-19 related supplies for community health workers across as many as 24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund pools resources to secure competitive prices for quality-assured essential supplies and works with in-country partners and governments to deploy products to the last mile.

Integrated with national responses, this is the only known effort that pools resources for PPE items specifically for community health workers in Africa. Over 30 in-country and global partners are involved in the effort.  The Fund is jointly organized by Community Health Acceleration Partnership, the organizations of the Community Health Impact Coalition (including Integrate Health, Last Mile Health, Living Goods, Lwala Community Alliance, Muso, Partners in Health, Pivot, and VillageReach), Direct Relief, the organizations of the Pandemic Action Network, and Ministries of Health in 24 countries.

The 24 countries: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

For more information, including a FAQ, please see https://www.directrelief.org/cafa.

The post Coalition Launches $100 Million PPE Initiative for Africa’s Community Health Workers appeared first on Direct Relief.

The Solidarity Fund was formed in March 2020 as a rapid response vehicle to augment the South African government’s response to Covid-19. It is focused on reducing coronavirus transmission, including through communications driving behavioral change; health response, including obtaining personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline health workers; and humanitarian response, including food relief for people who have lost their means of sustenance.

Direct Relief is acting as the fiscal agent for the Solidarity Fund in the United States, enabling U.S. residents and corporations to easily make donations to the Fund. 100% of all donations made on the donation page will be delivered to the Solidarity Fund.

Direct Relief itself has donated $1 million to the Solidarity Fund, and has advised the Fund on purchases of large quantities of PPE from China.

“South Africa’s Solidarity Fund is exactly the type of unifying, pragmatic approach that makes sense in the face of a pandemic that threatens everyone,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe, who also serves as Managing Director of Direct Relief South Africa, the organization’s South African affiliate, a Section 21 nonprofit. “Direct Relief is so pleased to participate in this important effort that is pulling people and organizations together to help address both the obvious direct threats to public health and the many related effects, particularly for those in already difficult circumstances.”

Within two months of its establishment, the Fund delivered food packages to about 300,000 vulnerable households. Each package was designed to provide a family with food essentials for two to four weeks. The Fund is now rolling out the second phase of the food relief program in the form of food vouchers, after determining it would be a more effective and efficient way to provide the assistance.

The Fund has played a catalytic role in responding to the impact of the pandemic on the health system by procuring critical medical equipment and PPE for healthcare workers and expanding testing capacity.

The Solidarity Fund has so far distributed nearly 20 million units of PPE, including gloves, gowns, masks, sanitizers, boot covers and face shields to healthcare workers in public sector hospitals and clinics, as well as to community health workers. The Fund has also provided more than 1 million surgical masks to nine medical schools across the country to help fifth- and sixth-year medical students and those in allied health sciences resume clinical blocks and complete their studies.

“We are privileged to have social partners such as Direct Relief who through their contributions have expressed confidence in the Solidarity Fund’s efforts to make an impactful contribution towards South Africa’s fight against Covid-19,” said the Fund’s Deputy Chairman Adrian Enthoven. “As a fiscal agent to the Fund, Direct Relief makes it possible for interested international donors to make a contribution in an efficient way that otherwise wouldn’t be available to the Fund. We are grateful for their support and solidarity with our mission of assisting South Africa’s health and humanitarian efforts during this challenging time.”

The Fund is being operated by more than 90 full-time voluntary staff across a network of 25 companies and organizations that are providing support services. In the spirit of unity in action, all of the talent and skills that have been mobilized to assist the Fund are doing so on a pro bono basis, with no one earning fees or a salary from the Fund. The Fund works closely with government and business, but is independent of both of them. Insurance company Old Mutual Ltd. is administering the funds on a pro bono basis, and the Fund is reporting detailed information on donations received and expenditures made.

Many of South Africa’s top political and business leaders pledged to donate 30 percent of their salaries earned over three months to the Fund.

The behavioral change initiative being run by the Fund encourages mask-wearing and hand-washing, and seeks to reduce practices that risk Covid-19 transmission, such as attending heavily-crowded funerals. It has partnered with the National House of Traditional Leaders to help traditional leaders communicate prevention messages to their communities.

The post Overcoming Covid-19 in South Africa appeared first on Direct Relief.

Unlike face masks, PAPRs cover the user’s full face, head and shoulders, and offer higher levels of respiratory protection than N95 masks. Their loose-fitting hoods don’t require fit-testing or that the wearer be clean-shaven.

The PAPRs being distributed were developed and assembled by Ford Motor Co., with design and testing consultation from 3M to provide critical personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers. 3M donated 6,000 of these devices to Direct Relief, which is distributing them to healthcare providers in need across the United States, especially to critically impacted communities in California.

Of the 6,000 devices, 2,500 were drop-shipped directly to the California Department of Public Health’s Emergency Preparedness Office in the Sacramento area. The CDPH immediately sent most of these PAPRs out to county public health departments. The largest shipment went to Imperial County, which as of July 29 had by far the state’s highest Covid-19 infection rate per 100,000 residents and whose hospitals have been so full they have had to send patients to other counties.

The State of California normally does not keep PAPRs in stock, and until now had none to distribute during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Alan Hendrickson, an emergency planner in the CDPH’s Emergency Pharmaceutical Services Unit.

The remaining 3,500 PAPRs, filling three full truckloads, arrived at Direct Relief’s Santa Barbara warehouse on July 6. Direct Relief allocated the devices—officially called the “Ford Limited-Use Public Health Emergency PAPR”—to 145 hospitals, health centers, and county and state health departments in seven of the hardest-hit states—Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Texas—and Puerto Rico.

“These are incredibly hard to come by,” said Mark Lenhart, Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Society of Critical Care Medicine, which helped Direct Relief identify the health facilities with the greatest need. “It’s been a godsend.”

Lompoc Valley Medical Center in Lompoc, Calif., has several staff members who are unable to be properly fitted to an N95 mask due to facial structure or facial hair, said Chief Nursing Officer Yvette Cope. Like other health providers around the country, the hospital had struggled to obtain PAPRs.

“The arrival of these PAPRs will help us meet the need of protecting our staff who cannot wear an N95 mask and provides additional protection for clinical staff providing life-sustaining airway intubation or administering aerosolized treatments,” Cope said. “We are extremely thankful for this donation!”

The PAPR hood design can be more comfortable for users to wear for a long period of time and its motor, battery, and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter can provide up to eight hours of filtered air on a single battery charge. Its large, clear viewing window allows patients to see the full face of the wearer, enhancing interpersonal communications and the overall clinical experience. Additionally, a PAPR’s motor unit can be used by multiple health workers as long as each individual has their own hood.

“3M is dedicated to the support and safety of healthcare workers fighting Covid-19 across the country,” said Bernard Cicut, Vice President Personal Safety Division at 3M. “We are proud to build upon our relationship with Direct Relief and provide these critical PPE devices for distribution to healthcare providers in communities with limited resources and rising case counts.”

“Direct Relief is so deeply grateful for 3M’s donation of much-need PPE, which is enormously important and perfectly timed with Covid-19 cases growing,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “We learned immediately what a huge boost this donation has been for the medical professionals who go to work every day to face this virus that the rest of us are just hoping to avoid. It’s such a great example of the type of leadership and public-spirited action these challenging times call for.”

The post Thousands of Advanced Respirators Reach Health Workers appeared first on Direct Relief.

However, the deep involvement, generosity, and participation of hundreds of thousands of individuals, and thousands of businesses of all types and nonprofit organizations that have been part of Direct Relief’s activities elevate the importance of public reporting – particularly to those who have so generously provided financial or other support — so they know how, how much, where, and for what purposes those contributions have been used.

Direct Relief’s Response

Direct Relief is funded entirely with private charitable contributions of goods, services, and money and focuses its humanitarian health activities on serving people who are most vulnerable – typically those with the fewest financial resources and least access to essential health care.

The organization’s ongoing efforts involve mobilizing private charitable resources, including essential medications and basic health commodities, and providing them upon request — and free of charge — to an extensive network of locally run partner health organizations that provide services to those most in need.

In emergencies, the approach is the same. Those who are most vulnerable in emergencies are generally the same people who were most vulnerable the day before the emergency occurred.

This has been the case during the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic and why Direct Relief has prioritized the provision of assistance to areas and people where the new threat of Coronavirus made even more severe the existing chronic challenges to obtain needed health services.

With that basic focus, Direct Relief’s Covid-19 response efforts have focused on the following areas:

• Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to safeguard health workers and essential medications needed to care for those who fall severely ill and require treatment in intensive care units that have been stretched tremendously as cases have surged.
• Boosting emergency financial support to nonprofit safety-net health facilities that have limited to no other access to philanthropic support to keep their staffs safe, enable them to provide Covid-related services such as testing and referrals for the people who rely on them, and also help ensure that they can continue to fulfill the critical front-line role they play in providing access to persons without other options as the existing chronic gaps are likely to grow.
• Generating information products and analyses to guide operations and inform policymakers through extensive collaboration with infectious disease experts, epidemiologists, technology companies, and public agencies.

The First Six Months

PPE and other Essential Material Support

Six months ago, on January 27, Direct Relief dispatched its first shipment of PPE in response to the outbreak to China. A day later, on January 28, a month before the CDC confirmed the first case of community spread in the U.S., Direct Relief deployed thousands of N95 masks, protective gowns and exam gloves to health facilities throughout California and Washington State.

Responding early to the outbreaks afforded Direct Relief unique insights into what medical items would become essential for treatment purposes.

Well before medical supply shortages hit the U.S. and the rest of the world, Direct Relief learned from Chinese physicians and hospital administrators of the precipitous need for PPE, intensive care medication and equipment.

Recognizing that if Covid-19 were to spread globally, it would lead to a tremendous demand for these lifesaving products, Direct Relief worked to get ahead of the pandemic by boosting its inventory of protective gear, including masks and face shields, identifying and sourcing the medicine and medical supplies hospitals would need to treat an influx of patients, and procuring diagnostic and respiratory equipment, such as pulse oximeters, oxygen concentrators, and ventilators.

Six months later, Direct Relief is among the world’s top distributors of protective gear and critical care medication.

By the Numbers

In the past six months, Direct Relief has scaled up its operational activity far beyond any it has engaged in during the past 72 years.

The organization has delivered 17,553 medical aid shipments to 2,591 health facilities in 54 U.S. states and territories and 86 countries.

These shipments have contained 2,800,000 lbs. (1,400 tons) of medical essentials, including 76,858,730 Defined Daily Doses of medications, with a value of $636,815,730 (wholesale acquisition cost).

Emergency Financial Assistance to Safety-Net Health Facilities

Complementing the extensive quantities of PPE and other essential health products deployed to the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic, Direct Relief has issued $30 million+ in grants to 523 community health centers, free & charitable clinics, and other non-profit health providers serving people and places across the U.S. at disproportionate risk from the effects of the virus.

For the past 16 years, Direct Relief has worked in close partnership with and in a supporting role for the vast network of nonprofit community health centers and free and charitable clinics in the U.S.

More than 30 million of the country’s most vulnerable residents — 65 percent of whom are members of ethnic and racial minority groups — rely on these local nonprofit providers for health care. On a daily basis, Direct Relief provides charitable donations of prescription medications and medical essentials to these facilities in all 50 states and U.S. territories for patients who need but cannot afford the items and lack other options.

Direct Relief developed the emergency grant program that has now provided over $30 million following the early signals that Covid-19 was having disproportionate effects among persons with low incomes and in communities of color – the same people for whom these safety-net facilities devote their efforts.

The spontaneous, extraordinary outpouring of public support that Direct Relief received that made it possible for Direct Relief, in turn, to direct emergency funds to these frontline facilities  struggling to keep their staffs safe while maintaining ongoing essential services and also step up public health measures, such as taking on community-based Covid testing.

These frontline community-based providers are using the funding to sustain and expand their activities and services, which include the protection and safety of health workers; telehealth services; Covid-19 screening and testing; and ensuring healthcare access for homeless and elderly populations and patients with chronic health conditions.

According to the National Association of Community Health Centers, this is the largest-ever philanthropic infusion of financial support to U.S. community health centers.

By the Numbers

Analytical Support

In February, when the rapid spread of Covid infections led to immediate crisis-level shortages of PPE and crisis planning to address the severe concerns about the availability of ventilators, Direct Relief began developing an estimating tool for the volumes of medications likely to be needed for the supportive care of Covid-19 patients while in intensive care units.

This tool, which incorporated broad input from clinicians and pharmaceutical companies, was then used to develop, in close consultation with the Society of Critical Care Medicine, a pre-pack kit of ICU medications that could be (and has been) deployed rapidly to areas immediately hit with a surge in ICU patients.

Each kit contains medications to treat 100 patients during an ICU stay.

Extensive product contributions from the manufacturers of the items needed for the kit allowed for more than 500 to be produced and distributed – enough to cover supportive care for 50,000 severely ill patients hospitalized and in intensive care.

In addition, extensive analyses have been conducted to inform policymakers and public health agencies with implementing and modifying social distancing measures, as well as guide its own activities, Direct Relief helped assemble the Covid-19 Mobility Data Network, a global collaboration of infectious disease epidemiologists and technology companies to share insights derived from population movement dynamics — the results of which are documented in numerous pre-print and peer-reviewed studies on mobility data and infectious disease modeling.

Articles and Resources:

• Aggregated Mobility Data Could Help Fight COVID-19. Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Apr. 10, 2020
• Case Study: Using Facebook Data to Monitor Adherence to Stay-at-home Orders in Colorado and Utah. MedRxiv, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, June 9, 2020
• Camber Systems Social Distancing Reporter: A tool for public-health researchers to assist the public and policymakers understand how populations are engaging in social distancing over time.
• The Facebook Data for Good Mobility Dashboard: This map is based on insights developed by the COVID-19 Mobility Data Network, coordinated by Direct Relief and researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, using aggregated population movement data from Facebook’s Data for Good program.
  

Financial Support and Use of Funds

Direct Relief recognizes that the generous supporters who made financial contributions to Direct Relief in response to the Covid-19 pandemic did so for the clear purpose of assisting health workers responding to and people affected by the pandemic.

In accepting funds for Covid-19 relief efforts, Direct Relief understands that both those who contributed, and people affected by the virus for whose benefit the contributions were made, deserve to know, in detail, how Direct Relief is using these funds.

As of June 30, Direct Relief had received over 125,000 financial contributions totaling $104 million for its Coronavirus response.

Direct Relief does not rely on any funding from government grants, and 100 percent of contributions received for Covid-19 are restricted for the exclusive use of responding to the pandemic.

Of the $104 million Covid-19 contributions received, more than half included an additional geographic or thematic designation indicating where the contributors intended their support to be used.

Of the funds received with a geographic restriction, 84% were intended for use in the U.S. only.

Expenditures

Over the past six months, Direct Relief has spent $72.9 million on response efforts — nearly 70 percent of the $104 million in contributions it received — across the following regions:

The $72.9 million in funds were used to support relief activities across the following functional areas:

• $34,280,827 to support organizations and health facilities in the form of financial cash grants.
• $30,361,738 to purchase urgently needed personal protective gear including millions of masks, face shields, gloves and gowns, and specialized medical equipment and supplies including oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and pulse oximeters that were requested by medical personnel throughout the U.S. and worldwide.
• $6,836,502 to mobilize, warehouse, transport and deliver to health facilities more than 2,800,000 lbs. (1,400 tons) of medical essentials via 17,553 deliveries.
• $1,458,410 to coordinate and manage response activities across all U.S. states and territories and more than 80 countries.
• $0.00 of Covid-19 donations were spent on fundraising or marketing activities.

Procurement

Direct Relief’s assistance model typically involves receiving requested product donations of Rx medications, vaccines, and medical supplies directly from manufacturers, which are in turn provided without charge to partner nonprofit health organizations that serve vulnerable people. When finances permit, Direct Relief also purchases specific such items that are needed by partner organizations but not available from manufacturers.

Direct Relief also maintains emergency stocks of PPE and essential prescription medications and supplies to be able to respond rapidly to emergencies. These stocks include products that are donated by manufacturers but also include purchased items. Among the items Direct Relief has routinely purchased in recent years are NIOSH-approved N95 respirators, which Direct Relief has manufactured in China and bear their own NIOSH approval and registrations (as well as distinctive in color and marked “Not for Resale.”) This step was prompted by the series of historic wildfires that California has experienced in recent years and the recurring situation of N95 shortages and rapid escalation in prices when the fires occurred. When Covid-19 broke out, Direct Relief fortunately had significant stocks of Direct Relief N095 respirators and other PPE, much of it donated by manufacturers such as 3M, that enabled an immediate response.

The expenditure of $30 million to purchase Covid-related materials over the past six months is the most expansive Direct Relief has ever done. The specific items purchased were based on the urgent requests received from partner health organizations, and extreme care was taken to obtain only products that had appropriate certifications and approvals for use in the U.S. (such as from NIOSH and/or FDA) and at a reasonable price – which was a challenge given the global shortages and wild price fluctuations.

In total, the expenditure of $30 million in procuring essentials met those standards. The specific items purchased include over 77 million units of PPE and several thousand other durable medical commodities, including oxygen concentrators, oximeters, ventilators, and “no touch” infrared thermometers. Distribution of these essential items continues on a daily basis, and the quantities of each item purchased are listed below:

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However, even as the landlocked, mountainous nation of about 29 million people deals with an uptick over the past two months, fatalities have stayed far below baseline figures globally, with 38 deaths, with no new deaths reported by the Nepali government. One of the speculative reasons for Nepal’s low death rate is that confirmed cases have been in young individuals, who have better outcomes, in general, than older populations. Increases have been attributed in local media to Nepalis who returned home, while carrying the virus, after working abroad.

As of yesterday, Nepal has conducted over 289,000 tests total (less than 1% of total population) and has 23,470 people currently in quarantine, according to the Nepali government. By comparison, the U.S. has conducted 41.8 million tests, according to Oxford University’s Our World in Data, representing over 12% of the population. Testing in Nepal has been hampered by a lack of both reliable antibody test kits and PCR testing capacity.

The WHO has classified Nepal as being a country with “clusters of cases” which is a status level below “community transmission” but more critical than their “sporadic cases” and “no cases” classifications. It currently stands as having the fourth-highest case total in the WHO’s Southeast Asia region, behind India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

In response to Nepal’s rapidly increasing number of cases since late May, Direct Relief has been responding to help support the nation’s healthcare system with critical medications and supplies, including via ICU Kits, which contain medications most in-demand while treating Covid-19 patients, as identified by Direct Relief’s pharmacy team.

In part due to existing relationships forged during the 2015 earthquake response, Direct Relief was able to respond to requests by preparing 27 ICU kits in support of all 18 government-appointed Covid-19 treatment and testing centers. Of those kits, 15 are designated for the Ministry of Health and Population, five are for Patan Hospital, and five are for Kathmandu Model Hospital. Two ICU kits arrived at Dhulikhel Hospital on June 22. The teaching hospital also received a $50,000 Emergency Covid-19 grant to increase its ICU capacity. The remaining kits are scheduled to leave at the end of this month, pending international flights resuming into Kathmandu.

“The geography of Nepal causes inherent challenges in healthcare delivery and, as they are reliant on imports for essential commodities, this lockdown is causing severe shortages in the country,” said Dan Hovey, who oversees emergency response for Nepal at Direct Relief. “We saw a similar situation after the 2015 earthquake. Due to Nepal’s reliance on Indian production, whenever the India-Nepal border closes, the medical supply chain in Nepal becomes severely constricted resulting in nationwide shortages.”

Dhulikhel Hospital, a government-designated Covid-19 testing and treatment center which is affiliated with Kathmandu University, also received 20 oxygen concentrators, one ventilator, and assorted personal protection equipment. The hospital has a catchment area that includes more than 2 million people, including its satellite locations.

Direct Relief also distributed 13 additional oxygen concentrators, for a total of 33, and ventilators to all of the 17 public Covid-19 treatment facilities in Nepal.

Since 2010, Direct Relief has worked closely with the Nepali government and local hospitals to provide medicines, supplies, and infrastructure. Overall, this totals $67.7 million in medical aid, resulting in more than 18 million doses of medicine to 40 healthcare providers.

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The first confirmed case of Covid-19 appeared in Cuernavaca, the capital of Morelos, on March 16, roughly three weeks after the first potential cases were identified in the country, brought to the city by an Italian visitor who reported himself almost immediately upon arrival. But by then, the fear that has accompanied the virus around the globe had already established itself. It has yet to dissipate.

In the first weeks after the pandemic reached in the state, demand for tests skyrocketed, said Dr. Daniel Madrid, Morelos’ Director of Coordination and Supervision, the technical branch of the state Secretary of Health, though at the time the prohibitive cost of tests meant administering them statewide would have cost more than five times the secretary’s annual budget. In some state hospitals, said Dr. Madrid, as many as 40% of frontline workers took leave because of pre-existing conditions that made them especially vulnerable to infection. Meanwhile, demand for protective gear outpaced availability. In one state hospital, Dr. Madrid said, a supply of 2,000 PPE kits was used up in a single day.

As the single largest private supplier of donated protective equipment in Mexico, Direct Relief is not only working to protect frontline workers but also to fight panic, a grave danger for treating the virus and stemming its spread. On June 30 alone, Direct Relief delivered more than 10,000 masks, as well as gloves, surgical gowns, face shields and other protective gear, sponsored by the Coca-Cola Foundation, to three hospitals in Morelos, the first step in an ongoing effort to ensure that hospitals throughout Mexico’s under-served provinces remain equipped to combat the current crisis. It’s part of the latest wave of shipments that will distribute up to 1 million masks to more than 150 hospitals across Mexico in response to Covid-19.

Morelos, due in no small part to its proximity to Mexico’s capital city, is particularly vulnerable. According to Dr. Madrid, fully 75% of the state population over the age of 20 is overweight, some 35% have been diagnosed with hypertension, and 15% with diabetes. Only one of the state’s 10 hospitals has a CT scan, which can make diagnosis challenging. Beyond that, the city’s proximity to the capital, the primary focal point for contagion nationwide, leaves the entire state vulnerable to infection. “A significant number of the houses in Cuernavaca are weekend homes of people from the city,” said Dr. Madrid. “So instead of decreasing mobility, the beginning of the quarantine ended up increasing mobility because people from Mexico City came here to ‘self-isolate,’ but really, they came here to go to parties.”

Federal guidelines did not allow for the closing of highways or state borders, though some residents urged the Morelos state government to do just that. Instead, state health institutions had spent the previous months bulking up their capacity to the best of their ability, surveying available hospital beds in state hospitals, and setting up centers to treat Covid-19 patients at state-run hospitals. In the indigenous community of Axochiapan in the state’s southwestern corner, a large group of residents attempted to block the hospital’s opening, even going so far as threatening to burn it down before it could accept any infected patients, said Dr. Madrid. Not long after, that hospital received its first Covid-19 patient, the leader of those protests. He died within a week.

Now, several months into Mexico’s crisis, exhaustion is as critical a problem as fear for healthcare workers and residents alike.

The Mexican Institute of Social Security, or IMSS, a hospital in Cuernavaca, has seen some 1,300 Covid-19 patients since mid-March when the city’s outbreak started, and currently has around 70 patients under supervision on the three floors currently devoted to Coronavirus infections. Relatively few staff members took leave from the hospital – no more than 10%, said hospital director Dr. Delia Gamboa Guerrero.

“Doctors from all of our teams have been helping to deal with Covid-19 patients because if they didn’t, we wouldn’t have the personnel to handle it,” she said. “So the problem now is that people are tired, they’re exhausted.”

Though the IMSS hospital has never surpassed 85% occupancy, said Dr. Gamboa, “the beds aren’t everything: there are medication and tools that sometimes run out, even when you have space.” Among those tools are certified protective gear, increasingly challenging to get as both larger cities, like the neighboring capital, and larger countries, like the United States, consume the necessary equipment in enormous quantities.

Indeed, according to Dr. Madrid, the fact that Mexico’s hospitals have at no point been saturated is largely due to gaps in the country’s medical system. “A patient that, under other circumstances, might survive for a month in another hospital, here, no – their case will complicate more quickly.” High mortality rates, in other words, keep hospital beds empty.

The state’s first IMSS hospital, surrounded by sugarcane fields on the outskirts of Zacatepec, has been especially hard hit, with mortality rates of 50% among Covid-19 patients and some two dozen hospital workers infected (one among them has died, a young assistant nurse who passed away less than a month ago.) At the height of the pandemic in May, said Dr. Marco Antonio Bermudes Espinosa, the hospital’s clinical director, the Covid-19 team would see nine deaths daily. “There was a death and then maybe 20 minutes later another death and 20 minutes after that another,” said Dr. Bermudes. “Some days there were lines of people outside,” said Fabiola Cabrera Santana, the hospital’s head of nurses.

While hospitals in Cuernavaca face the same difficulties as urban hospitals everywhere – namely dense populations and high mobility – in the region surrounding Zacatepec, communication has been the primary struggle. Residents in the neighboring community of Xoxocotla, continued to run their weekly outdoor market and local businesses even as large numbers of people fell ill. Many residents died in their homes or took the bodies of loved ones to an unlicensed crematorium. Others waited too long to seek medical help, said Nurse Cabrera, “and they would die at the entryway; they wouldn’t even make it inside.”

For now, said Dr. Bermudes, the situation appears to be under control. Deaths are intermittent and usually of much older patients, and there are no major holidays on the horizon to spark another outbreak. Still, for doctors here at the IMSS hospital in Zacatepec, the ongoing crisis has become an endurance game, a daily struggle to remain on your feet, to continue treating new cases as panic in the general population fades to anger and frustration as they wait to resume their lives. “We’ve learned a lot,” said Nurse Cabrera in the afternoon that her team received its PPE delivery from Direct Relief. “You learn to channel your fear and your pain and you learn–” she shrugged “–well, you learn to survive.”

– Michael Snyder is a freelance journalist based in Mexico City. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Believer, and The Nation, among others.

– Felipe Luna is an independent photographer, reporter, and editor based in Mexico. His work has been published in Bloomberg, El País, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, among other media outlets.

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The funding from Direct Relief will be provided through the Direct Relief + Abbott Fund COVID-19 Community Grant Program, made possible by a donation from the Abbott Fund, the foundation of the global healthcare company Abbott.

The grants will support 25 federally qualified health centers in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. The program helps health centers to strengthen their capabilities to safely and effectively screen, test, triage and treat COVID-19 cases and provide clinical education to patients in the communities they serve.

Nearly 30 million people in the U.S. – a majority of whom are members of underserved ethnic and racial groups – rely on federally qualified health centers for their health care needs.
“Health centers across the U.S. are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and their work is more critical than ever,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “Through these grants, Direct Relief and the Abbott Fund aim to bolster the efforts of the safety-net health facilities on which so many patients, families and communities rely for care and guidance in this public health crisis.”

The 25 health centers to receive funding include the following:

• San Fernando Community Health Center, CA
• Northeast Valley Health Corporation, CA
• JWCH Institute Inc., CA
• Universal Community Health Center, CA
• Comprehensive Community Health Centers, CA
• Los Angeles Christian Health Centers, CA
• Westside Family Health Center, CA
• AAA Comprehensive Healthcare, CA
• Family Health Care Centers of Greater Los Angeles, CA
• Community Health Alliance of Pasadena, CA
• St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, CA
• Via Care Community Health Center, CA
• QueensCare Health Centers, CA
• Herald Christian Health Center, CA
• Borinquen Medical Centers, FL
• Camillus Health Concern, FL
• Jessie Trice Community Health System, Inc., FL
• Esperanza Health Centers, IL
• Erie Family Health Centers, IL
• Lynn Community Health Center, MA
• Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, MA
• North Hudson Community Action Corporation, NJ
• Open Door Family Medical Center Inc., NY
• Community Healthcare Network NY,
• William F. Ryan Community Health Center, NY

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The Direct Relief shipment includes 20 of Direct Relief’s ICU Critical Supply Modules, each with medications and supplies selected to treat up to 500 critically ill Covid-19 patients, along with 150 oxygen concentrators, five ventilators, and large quantities of personal protective equipment.

“This shipment comes at a very critical time and will have immediate impact,” Dr. Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, Yemen’s ambassador to the United States, told Direct Relief. For the people of Yemen, “it is a clear message to them that they don’t stand alone.”

In countries across the developing world, the equipment to deliver oxygen to Covid-19 patients is in critically short supply. Oxygen is among the most important needs of severely ill Covid-19 patients, who often arrive at hospitals with extremely low blood-oxygen levels.

“Many countries are now experiencing difficulties in obtaining oxygen concentrators,” World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a June 24 speech. Oxygen availability, he said, “has been an area of intense focus for WHO since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Torn by a civil war that since 2015 has displaced more than 800,000 people, Yemen by last year was already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the United Nations warned. Authorities estimate that fewer than half the country’s health facilities are currently fully operational.

“The worst-case scenario—which is the one we’re facing now—means that the death toll from the virus could exceed the combined toll of war, disease and hunger over the last five years” in Yemen, said Lise Grande, the head of the UN’s humanitarian operations in Yemen, in an interview with CNN last month.

The shipment for Yemen departed Direct Relief’s Santa Barbara warehouse last week, scheduled to arrive this week in Dubai.

From Dubai, it will be flown into Aden, Yemen via the World Food Programme Logistics Cluster.

Direct Relief partner Yemen Aid will deliver the emergency supplies to Covid-19 treatment centers in Aden, Taiz, Lahij, and Abyan.

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To address the rising case count, Direct Relief is donating 1 million surgical masks from the U.S. to 155 public health care facilities across Mexico.

The donation adds to the more than 330,000 masks, 10,000 goggles, 40,000 faceshields, 489,000 gloves, and 48,000 gowns and coveralls delivered already by Direct Relief to Mexican hospitals and nonprofits responding to Covid-19.

Not included in this total are 100,000 KN95 masks donated to Mexican NGO Fundacion IMSS by two-time Academy Award-winning film director Alfonso Cuarón, which Direct Relief helped import.

Direct Relief, which has operated as registered national NGO in Mexico since 2014, has supported Mexico’s response to Covid-19 since the pandemic began, coordinating with a range of public agencies and businesses.

The Mexican Social Security Institute, the National Nutrition Institute, the Mexican Consulate in California, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have collected and relayed medical supply needs while several Mexico-based medical manufacturers have committed in-kind donations to Direct Relief of medical resources. PricewaterhouseCoopers has worked to identify additional PPE vendors and helped developed a distribution plan that aligns supply with demand

Along with PPE, Direct Relief received Bepanthen (skin cream) from Bayer to be distributed to frontline health workers experiencing skin irritation from PPE. Johnson & Johnson also contributed nonprescription medications and supplies, and The Coca Cola Foundation supported Direct Relief’s response with a $791,000 grant, which was used to purchase PPE.

Additional reporting contributed by Eduardo Mendoza.

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Wildfires occur every summer in Australia (typically peaking in February), but the scale of these seasonal fires were unprecedented. A severe drought, which led into the hottest and driest year on record, combined with sustained high temperatures and windy conditions, created an exceedingly dangerous fire situation across many areas of the country. Hard-hit areas included New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia.

Beyond the threat from high temperatures and burn-related injuries, wildfires can exacerbate chronic health issues such as asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems. For those with such conditions, fires deal a harsh combination of smoke, ash, dust, and other particulates in the air. Smoke from the wildfires inundated southern Australia – in December, the smoke in Sydney was recorded at 11 times over the hazardous limit – and was reported to have reached New Zealand. Hospital admissions dramatically increased in the smoke-affected areas, with some patients suffering from asthma for the first time in their lives. People were encouraged to stay inside and advised to wear masks to filter out unhealthy particulates when outside.

Direct Relief’s Response

Australia, an industrialized country with a universal healthcare system, had an adequate in-country supply of the medical goods needed to care for people affected by the fires at local hospitals and clinics. As a result, requests for emergency assistance with health-related products mainly focused on protective equipment, particularly N95 masks needed to support frontline workers and communities being inundated with smoke. A need for first aid and basic diagnostic products for use in conducting outreach services was also identified.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Fire-Ravaged New South Wales

Direct Relief delivered eight emergency medical shipments in response to the fires, all of which were transported on a charitable basis by Qantas Airlines. These shipments went to the Australian Red Cross, Rotary Club Melbourne, Victoria State Emergency Services, Convoy of Hope Australia, Team Rubicon Australia, and Qantas Airways.

A total of 430,000 N95 respirator masks were provided in the emergency shipments. The masks were then distributed by partner facilities and organizations to:

• National and state health authorities
• State emergency management agencies
• First responders including fire fighters, police, and ambulance crews
• Healthcare facilities and providers
• Schools and community groups

In addition to protecting people from heavy smoke during the fires, the masks were also used to protect public health workers and residents when returning to affected communities after the fires were extinguished. People were not only at risk of injury by falling branches and from sharp or smoldering objects hidden in rubble, but asbestos, fire-damaged septic systems, and chemically treated wood were identified for having negative respiratory health impacts.

Asbestos, Heavy Metals, Lead. Long After a Wildfire, Toxic Substances Linger.

After the fires were contained, a number of the N95 masks were provided to the Department of Health and Human Services, midwifery clinics located across the country, and first responders fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also included in the relief shipments were 12 Direct Relief Emergency Medical Packs. These portable ruggedized backpacks are filled with medical products to help address community health needs in an emergency. Each pack contains supplies and equipment designed to meet a variety of prevalent disaster-related medical issues, including infection control, diagnostics, trauma care, and personal protection.

Two of the backpacks were sent to the Australian Red Cross and 10 went to Team Rubicon Australia for use when conducting medical outreach services in remote and hard-to-reach areas. Outreach services were conducted in New South Wales and on Kangaroo Island – known for its incredible biodiversity and wildlife sanctuaries – where fires scorched over 800 square miles.

Financial Assistance through Grant Awards

Due to the fight against COVID-19, Direct Relief’s awarding of cash grants to assist with wildfire recovery efforts has been delayed. However, with COVID-19 cases decreasing in Australia, Direct Relief is planning to move forward with a number of cash grant awards.

For One Australian School, Repairing Classrooms Came First. Then Mental Health.

The financial assistance will be mainly focused on psychosocial support, particularly targeting youth and pre-school kids who have experienced, or are at-risk of experiencing, emotional distress related to the wildfires. Broader community health projects will also be considered for recovery grants.

The post Six Months After Australia’s Wildfires, Recovery Continues appeared first on Direct Relief.

The financial support from Direct Relief aims to safeguard healthcare workers as they stretch to maintain essential health services while also playing critical public-health roles in the Covid-19 response within their communities.

A groundswell of public support from thousands of individuals, corporate leaders, and a cross-section of leading artists and professional athletes provided the financial resources that were deployed rapidly to the safety-net health centers.

A lead contribution of $10 million from 3M anchored the Covid-19 fund, with other extraordinary, spontaneous support coming from corporate leaders including Jack Dorsey and artists including Sean “Diddy” Combs, among others.

According to the National Association of Community Health Centers, the $27.9 million in grants announced today comprise the largest private donation received by Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the 55 years since the first community health centers were established in 1965 as part of the Johnson Administration’s War on Poverty.

“We are grateful for this critical and immediate support as Community Health Centers work hard to keep communities safe during an unprecedented pandemic,” said Tom Van Coverden, President & CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). “We are also deeply appreciative of our longstanding partnership with Direct Relief in these uncertain times and their efforts to ensure that health centers confronting multiple challenges in underserved communities have the resources when and where they need them. We know that many donors and contributors have helped to make this fund possible, and we further extend our appreciation to all of them.”

More than 29 million of the country’s most vulnerable residents rely on local nonprofit community health centers for health care. FQHCs serve 1 in 11 U.S. residents, including 1 in 3 individuals living in poverty, 1 in 5 Medicaid beneficiaries, 1 in 5 rural Americans, and 1 in 9 children. Nationally, 63 percent of FQHC patients are members of ethnic and racial minority groups.

Direct Relief awarded individual grants of up to $50,000 to 513 FQHCs (full list available here) in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In addition, larger grants of up to $500,000 were made to six health centers that are in Covid-19 hot spots, have expanded activities related to Covid-19 care, and serve communities of color that have been disproportionately affected by the virus.

The health centers include:

• Baptist Community Health Services, New Orleans, LA—serves more than 20,000 patients, of whom 86% are racial or ethnic minorities. Baptist Community Health Services, an essential Covid-19 test provider in New Orleans for medically vulnerable patients, has diagnosed more than 10% of all Covid-19 patients who have been identified by FQHCs in the state of Louisiana. With two sites in the Lower 9th Ward, including the primary care point for Covid-19 symptomatic adults, Baptist Community Health has built deep trust within the community for its services. Funding will support new models of care, including telehealth, expansion of walk-up and drive-through Covid-19 testing, and additional behavioral health services.
• Harbor Health Services, Mattapan, MA—serves 32,000 patients, of whom 42% are racial or ethnic minorities and 70% are low-income or uninsured. While facing a sharp drop in monthly revenue that forced it to furlough one-third of its staff, Harbor Health quickly mobilized telehealth to offer medical and behavioral health appointments and expand care options to prevent emergent acute illnesses. To address the need for accessible Covid-19 testing in the communities it serves, Harbor Health is working with the City of Boston to provide testing services at multiple locations. Harbor will use Direct Relief funds to expand telehealth, testing, and chronic disease care to members of the community in a service area stretching over 100 miles from Boston to Provincetown.
• The Institute for Family Health, New York, NY—operates 32 delivery sites that serve 115,000 patients, of whom 72% are racial or ethnic minorities. The Institute for Family Health works in areas with some of the highest Covid-19 rates in the country, with 35% positive rate results for Covid-19 testing. Revenue has fallen dramatically during the past two months, causing concern for sustainability. Funding will help ensure that as many vulnerable individuals as possible have access to telehealth services to received continued care during this Covid-19 crisis.
• Minnesota Community Care, St. Paul, MN— the largest nonprofit primary care provider in the state, serves over 38,000 patients annually, of whom 52% lack health insurance. To minimize the impact of Covid-19, the organization transformed its models of care to include drive-up screening and testing, drive-up pharmacy services, emergency dental services, and telehealth visits for primary care and behavioral health. The organization will use the funding to implement protections for staff and patients, increase the delivery of outreach services, support the expansion and refinement of telehealth services, and sustain the delivery of uncompensated care.
• South Central Family Health Center, Los Angeles, CA—serves 22,000 patients, including 95% racial or ethnic minority patients, many of whom are front line workers. During the Covid-19 crisis, the proportion of uninsured patients has more than doubled, while the number of visits has dropped 55%, forcing the closure of four care sites. South Central transitioned from 0% to 60% telehealth visits within a few weeks. While testing has become more widespread, transportation remains a barrier to access. Funding from Direct Relief will support health worker safety, including PPE procurement, training, and physical building modifications, and will support Covid-19 drive-through testing.
• Zufall Health Center, Dover, NJ—serves 40,000 patients, including a large Latino population and many migrant workers. While many clinics and private practices have shut down, Zufall has remained open to serve its patients and those who have recently lost health insurance. Zufall shifted rapidly to telemedicine and is offering 8,000 telemedicine visits per month. More than half of its patients are uninsured and not eligible for Medicaid. Funds from Direct Relief will help Zufall continue providing care to patients, expand testing capability, offer remote home monitoring, and expand outreach to migrant workers.

“For Direct Relief, it’s profoundly inspiring to see the depth of concern and uncommon generosity from so many people of all backgrounds in our country — and a high privilege to connect those kind acts directly to the people and communities who need them most during this difficult, scary time,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “A pandemic puts everyone at risk, but some more so than others. The financial support here is so urgently needed to address critical health needs for people and communities most at risk, but the fact that the money came from so many people and reflects their concern and simple desire to help is a very powerful message and boost, too.”

In addition to community health centers, the Covid-19 Fund for Community Health is supporting free and charitable clinics and pharmacies that operate 1,400 service locations and serve 2 million patients who are among the most vulnerable members of U.S. society. The fund has donated an additional $1 million to the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, building on the $1 million donated earlier in April.

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“For the dedicated and courageous healthcare workers across this country treating Covid-19 and non-Covid19 patients, working without an adequate supply of face masks and other protective equipment is like going into battle without body armor,” said Direct Relief CEO Thomas Tighe. “This generous and timely donation from AstraZeneca will make a substantial difference in keeping these vital workers safe and able to continue providing care for us all.”

The level 1 surgical masks will be distributed by Direct Relief to health facilities in areas with the most significant public health need, including underserved and vulnerable populations. A portion of the masks will also be directed to the emergency management agencies in states where AstraZeneca has a significant employee presence.

The masks were procured by AstraZeneca through its manufacturing relationships in China and are part of the company’s overall donation of 9 million masks to healthcare workers globally.

FedEx has provided expedited shipping as part of its FedEx Cares “Delivering for Good” initiative. FedEx uses its global network and shipping expertise to help organizations with mission critical needs in times of disaster and for special shipments.

AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer, Pascal Soriot, commented: “As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact millions of people around the globe, our thoughts are with those suffering and the healthcare workers caring for them. AstraZeneca is grateful to our partners at Direct Relief for their large-scale response to this public health emergency, as well as FedEx for generously contributing its fleet to quickly move our donation of masks to the US. This outbreak has shown the strength of partnership and collaboration around the world.”

The post AstraZeneca Donates 3 Million Surgical Masks to Direct Relief for Covid-19 Supply Needs in the U.S. appeared first on Direct Relief.

Direct Relief is working in overdrive to get protective gear into the hands of as many health workers as possible as quickly as possible, with emergency deliveries leaving daily for medical facilities across the U.S.

However, the urgent demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) has far exceeded Direct Relief’s emergency stocks, and global shortages have lengthened the time for resupply and caused substantial price hikes.

As a private nonprofit that receives no government funding, Direct Relief’s ability to provide protective gear to nonprofit health centers and clinics that care for the nation’s most vulnerable populations will cease in the coming weeks, absent any resupply.

Therefore, Direct Relief is offering its extensive warehousing and logistics capabilities — free-of-charge — as a way for businesses, individuals, and institutions to distribute any available personal protective gear they have to U.S. health facilities, and is accepting donations of PPE for this purpose.

Specific guidelines are below to assess whether items are appropriate for the healthcare setting.

Direct Relief recognizes and applauds the emergency efforts launched by States and cities to create local exchanges for privately owned stocks of PPE to be donated and channeled to hospitals and health facilities, and encourages interested parties to explore those options as well.

Needed items include:

• N95 masks (NIOSH-approved)
• Surgical and procedure masks (FDA-approved)
• Exam gloves (powder free; nitrile or latex preferred)
• Isolation gowns/coveralls
• Goggles
• Face shields

Items must meet the following criteria:

• Expiry date: 2020+
• Minimum quantity: 1 pallet
• Condition: original packaging

Needed items that meet the above criteria may be shipped to:

Direct Relief
6100 Wallace Becknell Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93117

Drop offs must be scheduled or shipped via FedEx, UPS, or Common Carrier

The post Protecting Health Workers Amid a Global Shortage of Protective Gear appeared first on Direct Relief.

“Direct Relief is doing everything it can to bolster the front lines of the country’s health safety net and workforce because they do the best job communicating public health information to millions of people, and the best job keeping people healthy and out of hospitals,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief’s President and CEO. “Both roles are even more critical now to reduce Covid-19 transmission and minimize the number of patients who become severely ill from the virus and require hospitalization.”

The vast network of Federally Qualified Health Centers is the largest primary care system in the United States, serving more than 29 million (1 in 11) U.S. residents, including 1 in 3 individuals living in poverty, 1 in 5 Medicaid beneficiaries, 1 in 5 rural Americans and 1 in 9 children.

Direct Relief is shipping protective gear this week both to FQHCs and free and charitable clinics, a separate category of community-based primary health care providers that operate 1,400 service locations and serve 2 million patients who are among the most vulnerable members of U.S. society.

All 1,000 deliveries are being made by FedEx as part of the company’s FedEx Cares “Delivering for Good” initiative. FedEx uses its global network and logistics expertise to help organizations with mission-critical needs in times of disaster and for special shipments.

The 250,000 N95 masks will diminish Direct Relief’s emergency PPE stockpile, which in recent weeks has been tapped to fill emergency requests from hundreds of U.S. health centers, clinics and hospitals in areas where Covid-19 cases have been confirmed.

Direct Relief has been working with global business partners for the past several weeks to secure replenishment stocks and has received indications that protective gear exports may soon resume from China, the world’s hub of PPE manufacturing.

Substantial recent donations will help Direct Relief cover the cost of purchasing new supplies of protective gear. While most of the medicine distributed by Direct Relief is donated by pharmaceutical makers, Direct Relief uses financial contributions it receives to purchase much of the PPE it then donates to health provider partners.

This week, the Clorox Company Foundation donated $3 million and Verizon donated $2.5 million in support of Direct Relief’s work to help frontline health care workers keep themselves safe while treating Covid-19 patients.

A recent Direct Relief survey of 612 community health providers found that 71% were very concerned or moderately concerned about their ability to manage a surge of Covid-19 patients, while only 28% were confident that they could secure a sufficient supply of PPE in the next one to two months.

“Direct Relief has never rested for a moment to ensure the nation’s Community Health Centers are ready to respond to any disaster or any public health emergency,” said Ronald Yee, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). “Working with NACHC to deliver these absolutely necessary and life-saving personal protection equipment supplies is a testament to the strength of our partnership. We still have much to do in responding to Covid-19, but together we—NACHC, Direct Relief, and Community Health Centers—will continue to be on the front lines every day responding for our communities.”

“Free and Charitable Clinics are on the front lines providing access to health care and battling Covid-19 for over 2 million patients in communities throughout the U.S.,” said Nicole Lamoureux, President and CEO of the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. “In the face of this pandemic, our member organizations are challenged with dwindling resources and limited access to personal protective equipment for their staff and volunteers. This donation will allow clinics to continue the important work of providing health care to the uninsured and combating Covid-19, while ensuring their staff, volunteers and patients are safe in this uncertain time.”

As global supply chains have contracted as a result of the pandemic, Direct Relief has expanded its operations in the U.S. and globally.

Since January, Direct Relief has donated more than 966,000 N95 and surgical masks, more than 1.5 million gloves, and other items such as protective suits, to help safeguard health workers throughout the U.S. and internationally.

In the past week alone, Direct Relief has sent 900 deliveries to U.S. safety-net facilities, as well as hospitals and public health agencies.

Direct Relief also has proactively secured equipment and supplies for U.S. health facilities, including oxygen concentrators, projected to be necessary to treat Covid-19 patients recovering from the virus.

The post Protective Gear Bound for Approximately 1,000 U.S. Health Centers and Clinics Fighting Covid-19 appeared first on Direct Relief.

“Free and charitable clinics are a key pillar of the healthcare safety net in the U.S.,” said Damon Taugher, Vice President of Global Programs for Direct Relief. “Direct Relief is grateful for the opportunity to join with NAFC and BD in recognizing the free and charitable clinics and the critical role they play nationwide.”
The five clinics, each of which received $25,000, were selected by Direct Relief from 175 applicants across 38 states for innovative approaches to diabetes care among vulnerable populations.
“On behalf of the medically underserved and our network of charitable health care providers, we thank Direct Relief and BD for their continued support and commitment to bringing needed access to health care in the United States,” said Nicole Lamoureux, President and CEO of the NAFC. “Diabetes is one of the most commonly reported diagnoses among our patient population. This funding will allow grantees to address this chronic disease, focus on improving their patient’s health outcomes and, consequently, improving the health of their communities.”

The 2020 grant recipients are:

• Center for Healing & Hope, Goshen, Indiana
• Delivering Equal Access to Care Clinic, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Hope Clinic of McKinney, McKinney, Texas
• Luke’s House: A Clinic for Healing and Hope, New Orleans, Louisiana
• SLO Noor Foundation, San Luis Obispo, California

Since launching three years ago, the Continuity in Care Grant Program has provided more than $475,000 in cash to more than 30 free and charitable clinics, charitable pharmacies and state associations.

The post Free & Charitable Clinics Awarded $125,000 to Advance Diabetes Care Among Vulnerable Populations appeared first on Direct Relief.

Direct Relief has reallocated the masks from the stockpile it maintains to help protect Californians during periods of heavy wildfire smoke. Last week, the group ordered an additional 1.5 million breathing masks to be manufactured, both to backstop any additional needs in Australia and to prepare for the 2020 wildfire season in the Western United States.

While people in some of the world’s most polluted cities have long worn breathing masks (albeit often ineffective dust or surgical masks), widespread distribution of breathing masks in places like California and Australia had never been a consideration in the past. But years of devastating wildfires amid the warmest decade in recorded human history has changed the calculus of needs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the California Department of Public Health have issued extensive guidance about health risks from wildfire, including the type and proper use of respirators as protection. Persons with asthma or other respiratory or heart conditions face elevated risks from particulate matter in wildfire smoke. The N95 designation used in the U.S. is a P2 designation in Australia.

California’s Stockpile Diverted for Australia

Direct Relief’s experience responding to a series of largest-ever wildfires in its home state of California in recent years identified a sharp need for a ready-for-immediate-distribution stockpile of N95/P2 masks, which can filter tiny particles out of the air when fitted properly and are recommended by public health authorities. That analysis led Direct Relief last year to contract manufacture N95 masks in sufficient volumes to meet fire-related demand spikes of the type that had consistently exceeded availability and caused shortages when most needed.

“The historic fires in California have made everyone so keenly aware of the air-quality health risks that massive fires cause, as well as the frustration and concern of being advised to use particular types of masks that get stocked out fast and are unavailable,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “Our Aussie friends are, unfortunately, encountering the exact scenario that prompted Direct Relief’s stockpiling plan, so of course our team and supporters have been thankful to be able to pitch in.”

Since shipping the first batch of masks on Jan. 6 via air transportation donated by Qantas, Direct Relief has delivered 430,000 masks to Australia, of which more than 260,000 have been distributed to Australian partners.

Among the partners receiving the most masks to date are the Australian Red Cross, local Rotary Clubs, and Convoy of Hope, which are in turn distributing them to people needing them in local communities. Direct Relief has also distributed masks to Surf Life Saving Australia for its lifeguard members, RSPCA for volunteers in the field rescuing animals, and local brigades of the Rural Fire Service. The orange-colored masks supplied by Direct Relief are provided at no charge to local organizations to distribute onward for free.

N95/P2 masks only work if they are fitted closely to the face. If retail stores carry N95/P2 masks at all, most only carry them in one size. Direct Relief has delivered more than 110,000 small masks to Australia, where if fitted properly they may be used by people with smaller faces.

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The $1.17 billion in aid is more than a seven-fold increase from the $149 million Direct Relief provided in 2009.

Since Jan 1, 2019, Direct Relief has shipped 19,726 deliveries – 62% more than the 12,161 shipments provided in 2018 – to 1,808 locally run health care providers in 97 countries, including $167 million in aid to communities in 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Direct Relief’s crucial role in supplying humanitarian medical aid worldwide in 2019 has earned broad recognition by charity watchdogs and rating agencies.

In February, Fast Company magazine named Direct Relief to its list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019, a recognition Direct Relief also received in 2015. Fast Company cited Direct Relief in part for its work transitioning Puerto Rico’s health centers to solar-powered smart grids designed to be resilient in future natural disasters; and its pioneering work with Facebook using anonymized location information to determine the movement of people fleeing California wildfires, guiding how Direct Relief distributed breathing masks.

Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator, reaffirmed Direct Relief’s four-star rating for 2019, the ninth consecutive time that Direct Relief has earned this top distinction, and awarded it a 100% score for Accountability & Transparency. Charity Navigator also included Direct Relief in its 2019 recommendation lists of “10 of the Best Charities Everyone’s Heard Of,” “Highly-rated organizations providing aid and relief” for victims of Hurricane Dorian, charities still working on “Ongoing Recovery in Puerto Rico” two years after 2017’s Hurricane Maria, providers of “Relief after Tornadoes in the Midwest” and “California Wildfires,” and more.

Others recognizing Direct Relief in 2019 include CharityWatch (Top-Rated Charities) and the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at University of Pennsylvania (2019 High Impact Giving Guide.)

According to Forbes, Direct Relief last year ranked as the seventh largest U.S. charity, scoring 100 percent in fundraising efficiency (percent of private donations remaining after fundraising expenses) and 99 percent for its charitable commitment (charitable services as a percent of total expenses.)

Hurricane Dorian

When one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic devastated entire islands in the Bahamas, Direct Relief sprang into action. Since Sept. 1, the organization has distributed $5.9 million worth of medical aid weighing more than 113,000 lbs. to the Bahamas, making it the largest post-disaster provider of donated medicines and medical supplies to the island nation.

The scale of the destruction of public and private infrastructure is immense. Direct Relief will remain deeply involved in helping the Bahamas recover, as it has in Puerto Rico since 2017’s Hurricane Maria. Among its projects, Direct Relief is working closely with the University of Miami and the Bahamian Ministry of Health as part of a medium to long-term health recovery plan on the Abaco Islands.

California Wildfires

As the Kincade Fire torched more than 120 square miles in Northern California, the Getty Fire and other wildfires impacted communities across the state. The blazes dangerously compromised air quality for many residents, and Direct Relief distributed more than 140,000 N95 masks, which filter out 95% of very small (0.3 micron) particles, along with respiratory medications, oxygen concentrators, back-up power systems and hygiene kits.

Hours after Direct Relief delivered 50 Emergency Medical Packs to Ventura County’s Medical Reserve Corps, the Maria Fire broke out, forcing about 8,000 people to evacuate. The Medical Reserve Corps, which provides medical aid during large-scale local emergencies, was activated that night and sent to a nearby shelter to provide aid, immediately putting to use their new packs, which include the medical supplies most commonly needed in emergency response.

Yemen and Syria

Direct Relief sent a 40-ft. container of specifically requested medical supplies worth $200,000 to be distributed to the Ministry of Health and two major public hospitals in Taizz, Yemen. The shipment contained emergency health kits, diabetes medications, antibiotics, water purification tablets, and oral rehydration salts to prevent and treat cholera.

In Syria, Direct Relief since 2015 has provided nearly $150 million worth of critically needed medicine and medical supplies to dozens of charitable NGOs and medical facilities throughout Syria and in neighboring countries where Syrian refugees reside.

Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo

In August, Direct Relief shipped a 13-pallet donation, weighing almost 5,000 pounds, to the DRC, filled with critical personal protection equipment, including coveralls, masks, tents, bandages, reflective vests and first aid tape. Direct Relief has also purchased 26 additional pallets of emergency Ebola personal protective equipment including gloves and gowns, in anticipation of future requests from NGOs and government agencies in the DRC, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.

Logistics

Last year, Direct Relief opened its new headquarters and warehouse, along with a new cold chain facility. The refrigerated room, funded by BD, has been a portal to a new world of capability for Direct Relief, greatly expanding the organization’s ability to deliver medicines that require constant refrigeration. This, in turn, has already given tens of thousands of people around the world access to lifesaving insulin for controlling diabetes, vaccines for fighting a myriad of diseases, and advanced treatments for rare genetic disorders.

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A Direct Relief survey this month revealed that only 44% of California’s community health centers have a back-up energy source available when the electricity grid fails. Even clinics that had back-up generators found the generators didn’t provide enough power to operate all their systems, forcing operational triage.

Both wildfires and blackouts can be calamitous for public health. While wildfires exacerbate respiratory conditions and other ailments, and interrupt the continuum of care needed to manage chronic diseases, blackouts threaten to force many health care providers to close their doors, jeopardize expensive medications that require refrigeration, and can even prove fatal for people dependent on electrically powered medical devices.

“Modern health care is built on the presumption of steady power from the electricity grid,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe.

The $1 million in funding from Direct Relief will be used to bolster California’s extensive network of community health centers, which play a critical role in providing access to quality health services for seven million Californians who are among the state’s most vulnerable, especially during emergencies.

Specifically, the funds will support purchases of needed medicines and medical supplies, provide backup power to avoid losses of vaccines, insulin, and other medications that require constant cold storage, and for other emergency financial assistance for affected clinics.

Direct Relief works closely with the state of California as a member of the state’s Business Operations Center, managed by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and with county public health departments to mobilize and deploy charitable medications and supplies during emergencies.

The post Direct Relief Commits Initial $1 Million in Cash, Provides Medical Inventories to Bolster Health Services During California Power Blackouts and Fires appeared first on Direct Relief.

Cold wind blasts down from the industrial fans overhead. It cuts through the parkas workers don before entering Direct Relief’s cold chain room, making it feel far colder than the 4-degree Celsius reading on the temperature gauge. Inside the room are racks of shelves rising to the ceiling, filled with cartons of insulin, vaccines and some of the world’s newest and most advanced medicines.

In late June 2018, Direct Relief opened its new headquarters and warehouse, and with it the new cold chain facility. The refrigerated room, funded by BD, combines a suburban home-sized 2,800 square feet of floor space with a three-story ceiling.

The cold chain room has been a portal to a new world of capability for Direct Relief, greatly expanding the organization’s ability to deliver medicines that require constant refrigeration. This, in turn, has already given tens of thousands of people around the world access to lifesaving insulin for controlling diabetes, vaccines for fighting a myriad of diseases, and advanced treatments for rare genetic disorders.

The “chain” in cold chain is the supply chain delivering a medicine from manufacturer to patient, during which the refrigerated product must be maintained between 2-8 degrees Celsius.

Direct Relief’s giant refrigerator is only one link along the cold chain. Each cold chain package contains a temperature data log that maintains a record of temperatures throughout the entire delivery process. The drugs are often shipped to places that take multiple flights and long trips by road and are shipped in packaging that maintains the temperature range for up to 120 hours.

The cold chain capability of Direct Relief’s new warehouse enabled the organization to double the amount of cold chain medicine it shipped in fiscal year 2019 compared to fiscal year 2018.

Prior to July 2018, Direct Relief was able to distribute a smaller amount of cold chain medicines that were stored in pharmaceutical-grade refrigerators in its warehouse or through drop shipments sent directly from the manufacturer to the end recipient. In the 2019 fiscal year that ended June 30, Direct Relief delivered 1,462 cold chain shipments with a wholesale value of $203 million, doubling the 692 shipments delivered in 2018 at a value of $103 million.

Over the past year, Direct Relief has shipped insulin to countries including Eritrea, Tajikistan, and Pakistan; shipped blood-clotting hemophilia treatments to Puerto Rico, El Salvador, and Jamaica; and shipped cancer treatment drugs to Malawi, Belarus, and Syria. Countries receiving the most shipments include the United States, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Haiti, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Malawi.

“There’s a broad-based need for this capacity across many different health issues, from vaccination campaigns to diabetes and cancer therapies, in places where people lack access to resources,” said Thomas Tighe, CEO of Direct Relief. “Expanded cold chain capacity has let us reach more people in need of medicine that they lack any other way of obtaining.”

“It certainly opened up new opportunities to help more people,” says Dawn Long, Direct Relief’s chief operating officer. “A lot of these cold chain medicines are lifesaving.”

Trends in drug development have made cold chain increasingly important. Pharmaceutical companies have shifted their efforts away from chemicals-based small molecules to biologics and other large-molecule drugs, often created from living human cells. Most of these advanced drugs need to be refrigerated.

Some pharmaceutical makers have charitable programs that allow people who otherwise couldn’t afford a medication to apply for donated drugs. But many of these people are living in developing parts of the world that lack rapid, efficient delivery networks.

The cold chain facility has helped Direct Relief scale up its donations of insulin working with the Life for a Child program. Insulin should be kept between 2-8 degrees Celsius in order to last more than 28 days.

In fiscal year 2019, Direct Relief oversaw the end-to-end supply chain for over 275,000 vials of insulin donated by Eli Lilly and Company for the benefit of over 16,000 children with Type 1 diabetes across 30 countries including Mali, Pakistan and Bolivia.

The cold chain capacity has also enabled a growing Direct Relief rare disease program. Pharma companies often invest hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a single drug for a rare disease, which is then sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars per course of treatment. These manufacturers sometimes have charity programs in which they provide treatment for free to a limited number of people in developing countries who would otherwise have no chance of being able to afford it.

Direct Relief in fiscal year 2019 delivered $37 million in drugs donated by Takeda to treat rare genetic diseases called lysosomal storage disorders. The added cold chain capability also enabled Direct Relief to begin working with Amgen on its International Rx Access program, delivering $79 million in medications in fiscal 2019, the first year of the program.

Direct Relief uses specialized packaging to maintain a constant temperature for between 48 and 120 hours. They’re packed either with water-based gel-packs or with more advanced phase-change materials (PCMs). Direct Relief uses both summer packs and winter packs designed for different seasonal temperature ranges.

Direct Relief’s inventory management system lets it monitor the progress of every package toward its destination. Direct Relief is now working with its shipping partners on “lane assessments” evaluating potential routes to determine the most reliable ones—those most likely to allow the packages to get to their destination before the coolant stops working.

The cold chain delivery capacity goes beyond Direct Relief’s ability to manage shipments through its own refrigeration room. It is also able to better manage drop shipments—deliveries from manufacturers or other warehouse locations direct to recipients. As part of its program with Amgen, Direct Relief has managed the shipping of over 100,000 units of an essential medicine to fight life-threatening infections in underserved cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in 15 countries.

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