MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INC
Programs
Program 1 [2021]
1- PATIENT SERVICES: THE ASSOCIATION'S MRI ACCESS FUND PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR MS PATIENTS OR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SUSPECTED MS TO OBTAIN AN MRI SCAN FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING A DIAGNOSIS OR TRACKING PROGRESSION. THE PROGRAM SERVES INDIVIDUALS WHOSE INCOME IS UNDER 300% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES AND ARE OTHERWISE UNABLE DUE TO BEING UNINSURED OR UNDER-INSURED TO PAY FOR AN MRI ON THEIR OWN. DURING FY21, MSAA APPROVED MORE THAN 800 ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS FOR MRI SCANS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $502,000. (CONTINUE IN SCHEDULE O)THE ASSOCIATION'S COOLING AND EQUIPMENT DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM HELPS INDIVIDUALS WITH MS OBTAIN THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BEST MANAGE THEIR MS. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES SPECIAL COOLING APPAREL WHICH HELPS ALLEVIATE HEAT SENSITIVITY ISSUES FOR MS PATIENTS, AS WELL AS DURABLE MEDICAL AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT AT NO CHARGE TO MS PATIENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. DURING FY21 THE ASSOCIATION DELIVERED NEARLY 3,000 PIECES OF SAFETY, MOBILITY, AND SYMPTOM-MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS TO INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY MS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $321,400. ALSO, AS NOTED ABOVE, MSAA ADDED COVID-19 FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVERS TO THESE PROGRAMS TO HELP SUPPORT FAMILIES DEVISTATED BY THE PANDEMIC. DURING FY21 MSAA EXPANDED THE HOURS OF ITS NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE AND MADE SEVERAL REVISIONS TO OUR CORE SIGNATURE SERVICES IN RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MS COMMUNITY. MOST NOTABLY, WE ADDED A COVID-19 ECONOMIC HARDSHIP WAIVER TO THE EQUIPMENT AND COOLING DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS AND THE MRI ACCESS PROGRAM SO FAMILIESEXPERIENCING FINANCIAL CRISIS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC CAN SELECT THIS OPTION TO QUALIFY IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE NOT MEET ANNUAL INCOME GUIDELINES. ADDITIONALLY, CERTAIN APPLICATION DOCUMENTS ARE NOW OPTIONAL IF INDIVIDUALS CANNOT CONNECT WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN DUE TO CONCERNS OR LIMITATIONS IN TRAVELING TO MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS. ALL THREE PROGRAMS NOW OFFER ONLINE APPLICATIONS WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON MYMSAA.ORG. PROGRAM APPLICATIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AS PDF DOWNLOADS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH FROM THE WEBSITE. THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR, MSAA HOSTED WELL-ATTENDED VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS COVID-19 AND OTHER VITAL TOPICS TO THE MS COMMUNITY INCLUDING TOPICS ON HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC AMERICAN POPULATIONS, THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAIN HEALTH AND WELLNESS, ETC. IN ADDITION, MSAA LAUNCHED A WEBSITE HUB FOCUSED ON COVID-19 TO ADDRESS QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS FROM THE MS COMMUNITY WHICH HOUSES TIMELY ARTICLES, ARCHIVED WEBINARS, IMPORTANT RESOURCES AND MORE.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2020 – Jun 30, 2021Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$3.8MProgram 2 [2021]
2- PUBLIC EDUCATION, INFORMATION & REFERRAL: THE ASSOCIATION'S NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS DELIVER HIGH-QUALITY, INFORMATIVE PROGRAMMING TO MS PATIENTS, CARE PARTNERS AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS NATIONWIDE. THESE PROGRAMS COVER A VARIETY OF TOPICS ALL AIMED AT IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR MS PATIENTS. THE ASSOCIATION PARTNERS WITH A NATIONAL NETWORK OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TO PRESENT PROGRAMS OF SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL VALUE. THESE IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS COVER A WIDE BREADTH OF TOPICS, RANGING FROM ADVANCES IN DISEASE RESEARCH AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, TO NUTRITION AND WELLNESS ACTIVITIES AS WELL AS PROGRAMS TAILORED TO MEN/WOMEN LIVING WITH MS AND PROGRAMS CURATED FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS. (CONTINUE IN SCHEDULE O)THE ASSOCIATION ALSO REGULARLY OFFERS VIRTUAL AND DIGITAL-PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON SCIENTIFIC UPDATES IN DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND BEST PRACTICES IN TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS THAT TREAT THOSE LIVING WITH MS, SUCH AS NEUROLOGISTS AND NURSES. IN 2019, MSAA ALSO CONVENED THE MS AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADVISORY BOARD, COMPRISED OF MS HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, PATIENTS AND CARE PARTNERS, TO DEVELOP A FIVE YEAR PLAN OF INITIATIVES TO SERVE THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MS PATIENT COMMUNITY. ADDITIONALLY, MSAA CONVENED A SERIES OF ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS WITH LEADING MS NEUROLOGISTS AND PAYERS TO EXPLORE HOW THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM COULD BETTER SERVE THE MS COMMUNITY AND IDENTIFY COMMON INTERESTS. THE FINDINGS FROM BOTH OF THESE INITIATIVES ARE BEING DEVELOPED AS WHITE PAPERS AND WILL BE BROADLY DISSEMINATED WITHIN THE MS COMMUNITY.THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, VIDEOS, PODCASTS, THE ASSOCIATION'S WEBSITE, A HELPLINE, AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, THE ASSOCIATION PROVIDES THE MS COMMUNITY AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC VITAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISEASE, THE MANAGEMENT OF SYMPTOMS AND BREAKTHROUGHS IN RESEARCH. THE ASSOCIATION PUBLISHES A NATIONAL MAGAZINE "THE MOTIVATOR" DISTRIBUTED BIANNUALLY WITH A CIRCULATION OF MORE THAN 95,000. THE MAGAZINE IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DIGITAL EDITION. INDIVIDUAL CLIENT NEEDS ARE MET THROUGH THE ASSOCIATION'S NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE. OUR TRAINED SOCIAL WORKERS RESPONDED TO NEARLY 15,700 CLIENT INQUIRIES IN THE PAST YEAR AND PROVIDED THESE CLIENTS WITH CONTACTS TO APPROPRIATE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE NATION. THE ASSOCIATION'S WEBSITE HAD MORE THAN 758,000 SESSIONS DURING THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2021. THE ASSOCIATION OFFERS A MOBILE PHONE APPLICATION TO ASSIST ITS CLIENTS IN MONITORING, TRACKING AND MANAGING THEIR MS AS WELL AS SHARINGE DATA WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN. THE ASSOCIATION EMPLOYS VARIOUS DIGITAL TACTICS TO COMMUNICATE WITH ITS CONSTITUENTS. THE ASSOCIATION IS ACTIVE ON 6 DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. THE ASSOCIATION ALSO HOSTS A BLOG, OFFERS AN ONLINE PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNITY AND ANSWERS QUESTIONS THROUGH ITS MS QUESTIONS EMAIL OPTION AND WEBSITE CHAT FEATURE. THE ASSOCIATION RECEIVED A GOOGLE GRANT VALUED AT $166,700 IN FY21. THIS ALLOWED THE ASSOCIATION TO PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION'S PROGRAMS AND SERVICES VIA KEYWORDS THROUGH GOOGLE'S SEARCH ENGINE IN AN EFFORT TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ONLINE RELATED TO MS.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2020 – Jun 30, 2021Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$768.4KMultiple Sclerosis Assistance Programs
1- PATIENT SERVICES: MSAA'S MRI ACCESS PROGRAM PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR MS PATIENTS OR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A SUSPECTED MS DIAGNOSIS OR WHO HAVE AN MS DIAGNOSIS AND NEED MRI SCANS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING A DIAGNOSIS OR TRACKING PROGRESSION. MSAA'S MRI, COOLING AND EQUIPMENT PROGRAM SERVES INDIVIDUALS WHOSE INCOME IS BELOW 300% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES AND ARE OTHERWISE UNABLE TO AFFORD MRI'S, COOLING VESTS AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT ITEMS. DURING FY23, MSAA APPROVED MORE THAN 1,000 ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS FOR MRI SCANS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $518,000. (CONTINUE IN SCHEDULE O)MSAA'S EQUIPMENT DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM HELPS INDIVIDUALS WITH MS OBTAIN EQUIPMENT ITEMS THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BEST MANAGE THEIR MS. MSAA'S COOLING PROGRAM PROVIDES COOLING APPAREL THAT HELPS TO ALLEVIATE HEAT SENSITIVITY ISSUES FOR MS PATIENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. DURING FY23 MSAA DELIVERED NEARLY 2,200 PIECES OF SAFETY, MOBILITY, AND COOLING PRODUCTS TO INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY MS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $263,000. DURING FY21 MSAA EXPANDED THE HOURS OF ITS NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE AND MADE SEVERAL REVISIONS TO OUR CORE SIGNATURE SERVICES IN RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MS COMMUNITY. (MSAA'S EXTENDED HELPLINE HOURS CONTINUED THROUGHOUT FY22 AND HAVE REMAINED IN FY23.) ALL THREE PROGRAMS NOW OFFER ONLINE APPLICATIONS WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON MYMSAA.ORG. PROGRAM APPLICATIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AS PDF DOWNLOADS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH FROM THE WEBSITE. THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR, MSAA HOSTED WELL-ATTENDED VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS VITAL TOPICS TO THE MS COMMUNITY INCLUDING WEBINARS ON HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC AMERICAN POPULATIONS, MS RESEARCH, NUTRITION, AND WELLNESS, AS WELL AS OTHER IMPORTANT TOPICS.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$4.1M
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