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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (June 2, 2022)—If you’re in the world of home medical equipment (HME), you probably know the work that the Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) does to meet mobility needs across the United States. For years, the organization has worked hard to collect new and gently used HME and distribute it to those with need.
But recently, FODAC has expanded its efforts to the war in Ukraine, providing multiple shipments of medical supplies to support a military hospital in Lviv and fill other requirements.
It’s a bit of a departure for the Atlanta-based organization, which has helped with disaster relief in 20 states and Puerto Rico but generally sticks to donations in this country. FODAC did provide some support for efforts to get oxygen supplies to India during the height of that country’s COVID-19 crisis.
“We traditionally don’t get involved with a lot of international disaster relief,” said FODAC President and CEO Chris Brand. But when local organizations reached out looking for a way to get needed medical supplies to those on the ground in Ukraine, the group stepped up to help.
They have supplied things they had in their nearly 65,000-square-foot warehouse in Tucker, Georgia, including wound care, oxygen, tubing, tracheotomy equipment and orthotics. They sent 10 pallets early in the conflict through Poland to Ukraine when air cargo space became available, including cots donated by the Salvation Army. Soon after came another shipment of 30 or more pallets, including more than 200,000 frozen dinner-style meals.
FODAC was also going beyond their normal overseas shipment procedure to microsort wound care, oxygen and other equipment and pack it in small boxes, each individually labeled. That allows those on the ground to easily load items onto the small delivery trucks and vans that are crisscrossing from the Polish border into Ukrainian territory.
“Then there’s no additional touch,” Brand said. “A lot of volunteers came out to help with that.”
Brand said they’ve put out a broader drive for HME and other needed hospital equipment, and are also looking for connections that can help them ship to Hungary and Romania to better reach other areas of Ukraine. Many of the connections in Europe and the requests for specific equipment or medications come through Rotary International, which has long been a supporter of FODAC. The group has also partnered with Delta Airlines and the UPS Foundation.
“It’s an honor for us to be a part of something bigger that we wouldn’t typically want to take on all ourselves,” Brand said.