California nonprofits are under increasing scrutiny from tax officials, according to a New York Times article today.

“State and local governments have been taking a hard look at nonprofits and the various tax exemptions they receive for the last couple of years, as tax revenues have fallen and the demand for public services has risen,” the article reported. California and its budget crisis are no exception to this trend.

Founded and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, Direct Relief provides medical aid for people who couldn’t otherwise afford their prescriptions and supplies through 229 nonprofit clinics and health centers throughout the state as part of its Direct Relief USA program. In California alone, more than $33 million (wholesale) in aid has been provided for low-income, uninsured patients since 2008.

Direct Relief responds to emergencies on a state, regional, and local level as well, participating in the California Emergency Management Agency’s Business Unit Operations Center working group, equipping Medical Reserve Corps volunteers in three counties, and providing medical aid during emergencies like the San Diego Wildfires in 2007 and the Santa Barbara wildfires of 2008 and 2009.

Learn more about Direct Relief’s assistance in California. 

Easily lost in the ongoing intense debate about the future of health care in America and how to pay for it is a uniquely American model that already is doing much of what seems near universally desired yet painfully elusive.
Providing access for people of limited means or without insurance? Check. Delivering high-quality services that are affordable? Check. Emphasis on the ounce of prevention, wellness, and primary care and not just the pound of curative care? Check. Provided through private channels? Check. Facilities that are patient-focused and rooted in the local community? Check. Making prudent use of funds from government, private insurance, patients themselves, and charitable support from local communities? Check. Proven track record and ability to scale? Check.

If it’s at all a surprise that these things happen in more than 7,000 sites operated by nonprofit community health centers across America, it’s probably because the people doing them have been so busy taking care of people they haven’t had time or inclination to cut through the noise or make the headlines. Collectively, these facilities provide care to 20 million people, many of whom have very few other options. They are a critical component of the healthcare safety net in the U.S., unofficial though it is.

That’s why, despite whatever news – probably scary – is vying for attention this week, I’m thankful it’s National Health Center Week. The example of America’s nonprofit community health centers is a good reminder that not only can we get the big stuff right, but that we usually do in this country.

Problems, understandably, get attention. With health care, tens of millions of people without insurance having limited to no access on one hand, and spiraling unsustainable costs on the other, offer plenty of targets for attention. But exclusive focus on problems can obscure what’s working and may offer solutions. To overlook the benefits of community health centers would be to ignore that they represent both what we want more of—access, quality, affordability, prevention, meaningful data—and less of, costs, treating preventable conditions at a later stage, and invisible-behind-a-curtain decision makers who never encounter a patient in need.

A new report by Direct Relief, “State of the Safety Net” shows just how extensive are the public services being provided privately, by America’s nonprofit community health centers and free and community clinics. The good news is that they exist, since a counterfactual history of how things might be without them is deeply troubling. Also comforting is the foresight and insight of, federal legislation, enacted 45 years ago, that encouraged local private, nonprofit organizations to tackle big issues in partnership with government.

The report, which reviewed the most recent national data for all community health centers from 2006 to 2009, documents the challenges faced by people in the United States, and the safety net healthcare providers caring for them. Of the over 20 million people served, 38% lacked health insurance and 71% earned incomes of less than $22,000 a year for a family of four. At a time when states are trimming back Medicaid reimbursements, the proportion of those who rely on Medicaid—including those who lost their jobs during this recession—is on the rise. Diagnosis rates for chronic diseases are increasing.
The unique features and hard work of America’s nonprofit community health centers have earned them a rare degree of bipartisan support over the past several decades. That’s a good thing, since their mission and work is something that we can all applaud and they make sense on every level. In the thousands of local communities in which they serve, they are governed by local boards of directors—half patients—and receive private, charitable community support. With presence in each of the 50 states, they are simply an essential, huge element of our nation’s health care safety net.

Direct Relief USA, with the support of healthcare companies, foundations, and individual supporters, has become the largest nonprofit program in the country to help patients at safety net facilities obtain medications and supplies they need at no cost. Direct Relief is the only nonprofit organization licensed to distribute prescription medications in all 50 states and provides donations of prescription medicine and medical supplies to help partner facilities provide care for low-income, uninsured patients. It is the largest such nonprofit program in the U.S., delivering more than $250 million (wholesale) since 2004.

We recognize that the continued success of America’s community health centers and their nonprofit clinic counterparts has been and will continue to be where the rubber hits the road for millions of people in need of care, and we will try to help even more in these challenging times. We hope that those charged with the tough choices in public budgeting will continue see the same value-for-dollar and public benefit in their decisions as well.
During National Health Center Week take a moment to learn more about these providers and the millions of patients they treat everyday by visiting www.directrelief.org/USA 

 

Pampers is running a special campaign to help families who have lost their homes or otherwise struggled in the aftermath of tornadoes and storms in the U.S. and has chosen Direct Relief as its nonprofit partner.

The “Lend a Helping Hand” campaign is simple: Facebook users simply click on the "I Support" button on the Pampers “Miracle Missions” Facebook page, and Pampers will donate one diaper, one pack of wipes, and $1 to Direct Relief for families in storm-affected areas. Participants can also share their story on the Miracles page and Pampers will donate two diapers, two packs of wipes, and $2 to Direct Relief.

Direct Relief supporters, please take a moment to click on the "I Support" button on the Pampers Facebook page, and tell your friends about the campaign. You’ll help provide more diapers and more wipes for families in need.

The campaign closes July 31, 2011, so spread the word today.

 

Direct Relief International was named a 2011 Laureate for its innovative use of technology tonight at IDG’s Computerworld Honors Program awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. The annual award program honors visionary applications of information technology promoting positive social, economic, and educational change. Direct Relief won this honor in the Health category for its implementation of the Direct Relief Network, an information platform that enables charitable donations and management of medications, vaccine, medical supplies and health-related information in a precise, transparent, and efficient manner.

The Direct Relief Network links U.S. nonprofit clinics, international health programs, and emergency-response efforts with medical commodities donated by more than 100 healthcare companies.

In the United States, where Direct Relief is the first and only nonprofit organization licensed to distribute prescription medications in all 50 states, the Direct Relief Network has become the largest nonprofit channel in the country for nonprofit clinics and health centers to obtain donations of pharmaceuticals and other products for their low-income, uninsured patients. The Direct Relief USA program links more than 1,000 nonprofit community-based clinics through the Direct Relief Network with available medical products donated by dozens of healthcare companies. The program has provided more than $250 million in medical donations to nonprofit facilities in all 50 states and recently issued an extensive State of the Safety Net report about US nonprofit primary care clinics and health centers.

Internationally, the technology enables global sourcing, inventory management, reporting, and distribution for local healthcare projects, hospitals, clinics, and organizations in over 60 countries. In Haiti, Direct Relief has been among the world’s largest providers of medical resources since the January 2010 earthquake, with more than 700 tons of medical resources valued at over $60 million provided to over 100 hospitals, clinics and shelters. The organization’s deployment of technology currently enables over 100 healthcare facilities to order needed medical products online and optimize distribution and reporting.   

The Direct Relief Network is built on SAP’s enterprise management technology platform, which is also used by leading global healthcare companies, and configured to meet the particular stringent requirements of pharmaceutical management and distribution as well as the practical needs of nonprofit clinics and health centers served by Direct Relief’s humanitarian programs.

The Computerworld Honors Program is governed by the not-for-profit Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation, founded in 1988 by International Data Group (IDG). Computerworld Honors is the longest-running global program to honor individuals and organizations that use information technology to promote positive social, economic and educational change. Learn more about the program at the Computerworld Honors website: http://events.computerworld.com/Honors2011.

Direct Relief is honored to be recognized by IDG and Computerworld for its advancements in technology to improve the health of people in need around the world.

Centro Vivir con Diabetes (CVCD), a innovative Bolivian nonprofit and Direct Relief partner, was highlighted at the 34^th annual meeting of the Global Health Council in Washington, D.C. yesterday, featuring its groundbreaking work in prevention and treatment of diabetes for the poor across Bolivia.

CVCD’s presentation emphasized the medical impact and cost effectiveness of education and prevention in reducing diabetes risk factors in Bolivia, as well as a new collaboration with Direct Relief to integrate electronic medical records with iPad devices for mobile and clinical data collection, management, and visualization. CVCD spoke on the panel titled “The Challenge of Providing Comprehensive Diabetes Care in Resource-Constrained Settings,” along with representatives of International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and AMPATH, a pioneering healthcare partnership in Western Kenya.

Direct Relief nominated CVCD for inclusion in the GHC panel based on its five-year partnership, along with the Abbott Fund, to strengthen CVCD’s integrated community-based programs, involving research, outreach, education, prevention, and clinical care services.

CVCD is the only institution in Bolivia providing diabetes prevention, care, and treatment services to patients regardless of their ability to pay. Since its founding in 2002, CVCD has become a lifeline for poor people with diabetes throughout the country. With support from Direct Relief and the Abbott Fund, CVCD in created the Prevenir program, to perform diabetes education and testing through mobile outreach across the country. Since then, more than 100,000 Bolivians have been tested for diabetes, and over 11,000 cases have been detected through the program.

CVCD has also been recognized as one of the world’s leading diabetes-care institutions, named in 2009 as one of six International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Centers of Education and in 2011 as one of World Diabetes Foundation’s Centers of Excellence.  

 

Direct Relief’s support for CVCD is one of several partnerships designed to address the global diabetes epidemic and the increasing threat of noncommunicable diseases. From our work with safety net health centers in the U.S. to support for emerging care and treatment programs in Haiti, and integrated care for patients with noncommunicable disease with emergency prep and response, Direct Relief emphasizes strengthening global infrastructure to respond to the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases worldwide.

Direct Relief Africa Program Officer Lindsey Pollaczek received this wonderful thank you email from Tiyatien Health in Liberia, a group supporting a hospital that is caring for refugees from Ivory Coast. Direct Relief provided antibiotics and antiseptics for the hospital to help treat and prevent infections in its influx of patients.

Sent: Monday, April 25, 2011
To: Lindsey Pollaczek

Dear Lindsey,

I wanted to pass you and your team our deepest thanks, along with a photo, for the urgently needed supplies that you helped coordinate from California to Boston and finally on to Liberia.

More than 55,000 Ivorian refugees have sought safety and shelter in Grand Gedeh County, Liberia, where Tiyatien Health (TH) supports Tubman Hospital in partnership with the Liberian government. Within days, Direct Relief International responded to the growing crisis by sending TH urgently needed medicines and supplies. Here, TH presents the donations to the hospital leadership, who replied, "We are deeply grateful. The timing could not have been better."

You can continue to follow TH's response at www.tiyatienhealth.org/refugeecrisis.

Again, we are so grateful for the donation from Direct Relief International during this time of crisis. Your support and solidarity means the world to us and our patients here in Liberia.

With thanks from Zwedru,
Peter

Peter Luckow
Director of Operations
Tiyatien Health—Justice in Health
www.tiyatienhealth.org

BD and Direct Relief USA have joined together for the second time in a nationwide effort to help low-income, uninsured patients with diabetes obtain supplies to better manage their health condition.

BD has again donated 5 million insulin syringes to Direct Relief USA for the benefit of patients in America’s nonprofit community health centers and clinics, which collectively provide care for more than 20 million patients.

Along with BD and Direct Relief USA, this collaborative effort to assist people with diabetes includes the nation’s leading associations of nonprofit safety net health centers and clinics – the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC). Both associations and their members are integral parts of Direct Relief USA’s nationwide program, which now includes support to more than 1,000 facilities in all 50 states with donations annually.

Working with NACHC and NAFC, Direct Relief USA conducted a survey of safety-net facilities this year to assess the current number of patients with diabetes and the level of unmet need among patients. The 5 million insulin syringes were provided to support low-income, uninsured patients in more than 450 facilities in 48 states.

This program is the most recent example of innovative collaboration between BD and Direct Relief to improve health services for people facing hardship. Over the past 14 years, BD has provided volunteers, medical in-kind donations, and financial support for Direct Relief programs in the U.S. and around the globe, including in emergency situations.

Direct Relief USA is the only nonprofit organization licensed to distribute prescription medications in all 50 states and has rapidly become the largest nonprofit provider of prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplies for low-income, uninsured patients served by the nation’s nonprofit health centers and clinics.