MDA Providing Emergency Services
for Hurricane Refugees with Muscular Dystrophy
TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 3, 2005 -- Hurricane Katrina’s refugees
include individuals and families facing the additional challenges -–
and unique needs –- imposed by progressive neuromuscular diseases
such as muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or
Lou Gehrig’s disease). The Muscular Dystrophy Association has
implemented an emergency action plan to assist those it serves who have
been directly affected by the storm.
Services include emergency repairs of wheelchairs and leg braces, and
loans of crucial assistive equipment, which may include wheelchairs,
mechanical lifts, communication devices and hospital beds.
Those displaced by the hurricane also will have access to MDA clinics
and MDA/ALS centers in their temporary locations to address medical
issues related to their neuromuscular diseases.
“This devastating hurricane creates special hardships for those
with disabilities and chronic diseases,” MDA President & CEO
Robert Ross said. “MDA is standing by to help those we serve who’ve
been displaced from their homes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama
as they face this crisis.”
MDA staff members in communities across the country are prepared to
provide those temporarily residing in their areas with information about
local resources that may assist with additional medical or personal
needs.
For information on MDA services, those who call (800) 572-1717 will
be automatically connected with the nearest MDA office. Callers in temporary
shelters should use land-line phones beginning with the local area code,
rather than personal cell phones beginning with their home area codes,
to ensure their calls are routed to the closest MDA office.
Or go to www.mda.org and enter your local zip code to find the nearest
MDA office.
The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, the Association’s primary annual
fund-raiser, will be broadcast Sunday and Monday on some 200 MDA “Love
Network” stations across the country. The Telethon will also include
appeals for donations to the Salvation Army hurricane relief effort.
MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular
diseases affecting children and adults through programs of worldwide
research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and
public health education. The Association's programs are funded almost
entirely by individual private contributors.
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