On August 26, 2020, the American Kidney Fund (AKF) announced the mobilization of its Disaster Relief Program to provide emergency financial assistance to dialysis patients affected by Hurricane Laura, which touched down along the Texas and Louisiana coasts.

Disaster relief grants help patients:

• replace lost medications and foods necessary for their renal diet;
• pay for temporary housing and transportation to treatment centers; and
• replace clothing, personal hygiene products, and other essentials lost due to home damage or emergency evacuation.

Hurricane Laura has hit Texas and Louisiana only three years after Hurricane Harvey ravaged the same area—wreaking havoc with high winds and heavy flooding and leaving destruction in its wake. Hurricanes Irma and Maria also struck that year, both of which caused substantial widespread damage. All told, in 2017, the AKF distributed nearly $850,000 to over 3,800 dialysis patients. 

One hundred percent of all donations made to AKF’s Disaster Relief Program go directly to kidney patients in need of assistance. AKF is currently covering the cost of check distribution and grant processing to make sure the maximum number of patients receive support in as short a time as possible. 

“We remember all too well the extensive devastation that Hurricane Harvey wrought on the Gulf coast in 2017, and the tremendous impact that storm had on dialysis patients in the region,” said AKF President and CEO LaVarne A. Burton. “Our disaster relief grants provide assistance when it is needed most and help alleviate some of patients’ financial concerns at this stressful time.”

*American Kidney Fund. (2020, Aug. 26). With Thousands of Dialysis Patients in Hurricane Laura’s Path, American Kidney Fund Activates Disaster Relief Program for Emergency Assistance [Press Release]. https://www.kidneyfund.org/news/with-thousands-of-dialysis.html