As you are aware, the impact of COVID-19 has been devastating on individuals, families, businesses and, of course, our nonprofit community in Arizona. I want to personally thank you for your calls, emails, thoughts and prayers for Mission of Mercy during this difficult time. We are praying for you as well.
In mid-March, we made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend the work of our medical volunteers while stay-at-home orders remain in place. We miss all of our volunteers and the tremendous difference they make in the lives of our patients. However, we must continue to implement social distancing, hand washing, PPE usage and working from home to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus while protecting the health of our staff, patients and community.
Our medical staff continues to visit each regularly scheduled clinic site to dispense prescription medication refills, respond to medication refill requests from patients through local pharmacies, and providing guidance to patients regarding COVID-19.
In addition, our Certified Diabetes Educator is providing telehealth sessions to support patients with diabetes manage their conditions until clinics reopen.
The Arizona medical program is implementing strategies to prepare for when clinics reopen for routine medical appointments. We envision a tremendous increase in the number of patient appointment requests for our current patients as well as the need for new patient slots for those who have been impacted by the economic downturn. We pray that all our dedicated volunteers return healthy and ready to assist again, and that we will have the physical and financial capacity to meet these needs.
You can help Mission of Mercy during this difficult time by making a financial gift via mail, phone or online. Please consider donating a portion of your government issued stimulus check if you are in a position to do so. Your gift will help ensure our patients receive the essential medications they need now and assist MOM in preparing for an increased patient load when clinics reopen for full service in the coming weeks. Thank you for partnering with us to provide “Healing through Love” and the restoration of dignity to the most vulnerable in our communities.
Paula Carvalho
Executive Director
