The Joseph P. Addabbo Family Center learned today that they will receive a $250,000 grant after suffering catastrophic damages caused by Hurricane Sandy to three of their community health centers, two in the Rockaways and one in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

The grant, from Direct Relief USA and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), is the first cash grant awarded from the Sandy Safety Net Fund, a charitable endeavor established by the two nonprofit organizations earlier this month exclusively to support the patients and nonprofit health centers and clinics in areas affected by the storm.

“Addabbo Family Health Center is currently recovering from estimated losses of $2 million as a result of Hurricane Sandy,” said Dr. J.R. Peter Nelson, Executive Director of Addabbo Family Health Center.  “We are profoundly grateful for Direct Relief and its partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers for targeting the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center for such a generous grant.”

Direct Relief, the only U.S. nonprofit organization licensed to distribute prescription medications in all 50 states, has already delivered dozens of emergency shipments of medicines, nutritional products, and personal hygiene supplies to the hardest hit health centers and clinics in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Direct Relief has already committed $1 million in cash and made its entire inventory of medications and supplies worth $25 million available for Sandy relief.  The agency runs the largest nonprofit program in the country providing donations of medications and supplies to serve low-income, uninsured patients at more than 1,000 nonprofit health centers and clinics on an ongoing basis and in emergency situations.  To date, 25,000 pounds of emergency aid has been donated by the relief organization for Sandy.

“These nonprofit clinics and health centers are on the front lines during emergencies, caring for their communities in darkness and in despair, as we have seen with Sandy.  They have limited financial ability to absorb the blow right now, and yet their patients need help during this critical period,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief.  “The cash grant to Joseph P. Addabbo Community Health Center will ensure local residents have a place to go for health care services despite disruptions caused by Sandy.”

Beginning with Hurricane Katrina, NACHC and Direct Relief have worked together on a series of initiatives to mobilize private charitable resources for emergency preparedness and response activities to benefit the patients of nonprofit safety-net health centers and clinics.

Among other initiatives, Direct Relief annually conducts an extensive Hurricane Preparedness Program that prepositions emergency medications and supplies at nonprofit community health centers and clinics in hurricane-prone areas to assure that some resources are already on-hand when emergencies arise.

Tax-deductible contributions to the Sandy Safety-Net Fund may be made to a specially designated account at www.DirectRelief.org.  Contributions to this fund will be restricted and will be used only on activities to assist communities affected by Hurricane Sandy as jointly determined by the two organizations.  Such contributions will not become part of a general disaster fund.