TUCKER, Ga. (April 15, 2020)—Georgia non-profit organization Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) has stepped in during the COVID-19 pandemic to supply much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE), and other medical supplies to medical centers and hospitals in Georgia. In addition to its main mission of providing durable medical equipment (DME) like wheelchairs, hospital beds and patient lifts to people with disabilities, FODAC has taken on the task of addressing shortages in critically-needed medical supplies for health care facilities throughout Georgia, often partnering with Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on warehousing and distribution.
“FODAC has a long history of quick response to large disaster situations, and COVID-19 is certainly a national disaster,” said Chris Brand, president and CEO of FODAC. “We are proud to support the medical community as they courageously continue their work on the frontlines of this global pandemic.”
With critical PPE and medical supplies in short supply, FODAC searched through its vast inventory to identify those items which were most needed, and then reached out to other suppliers to gather additional donations for distribution. FODAC has offered to serve as a warehouse distribution site for partners, companies and organizations that are donating critical supplies, and to manage distribution to health care facilities with severe shortages.
Some of the beneficiaries of FODAC’s work include Grady Memorial Hospital, Southern Regional Medical Center, Emory Healthcare, and Piedmont Healthcare, who received over 5,000 N95 masks along with thousands of other supplies; including isolation gowns, fluid shield masks, vinyl exam gloves, isolation gowns, and yellow converter gowns. Recently, FODAC loaded a 53-foot trailer for GEMA for distribution to various hospitals throughout the state of Georgia. The shipment included $1 million worth of respiratory equipment, including ventilators, CPAPs, BiPAPs, nebulizers, oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, and tracheotomy supplies, as well as hospital beds and personal protection equipment like masks, goggles, gloves and gowns—all vital in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. FODAC’s work is also extending out nationally; it is working now on a shipment of supplies through FEMA to assist health care workers in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
FODAC’s work is vital during this critical time; without its assistance, many health care centers would be operating under severe shortages and risking the lives of workers and patients. "FODAC is considered an essential service during this COVID19 crisis,” stated Sarah Jackson, Community Partnerships Manager for GEMA.
Those wishing to make financial donations to FODAC in support of its COVID-19 work can do so at fodac.org. While its corporate office is closed to the public until restrictions lift, FODAC is accepting donations in its front driveway of PPE and other medical supplies each Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 9:00 a.m. and noon; if help is needed to unload, call (770) 491-9014 x114 to schedule an appointment.
