HEALTHPOINT provides donation to support 100 free AAWC patient memberships

HEALTHPOINT today announced it will provide a donation to the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC) Patient Advocacy Campaign to support 100 free AAWC patient memberships. The AAWC initiative is to be formally launched today during the Opening Ceremony of the Spring 2010 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), on April 17, 2010, from 2:15-3:00 PM at the Gaylord Palms Hotel and Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

"The primary objective of the Patient Advocacy Campaign is to create an organized, collective, singular voice to elevate the importance of the patient in the multidisciplinary approach to wound care", explains William J. Ennis, DO, MBA, AAWC president. "Additionally, this initiative will serve to inform and impact governmental and regulatory entities, insurance companies, members of the media and other stakeholders."

Recipients of the 100 free patient memberships sponsored by HEALTHPOINT will be selected by the AAWC Board of Directors. Additionally, attendees at SAWC Spring 2010 will be asked to donate $30 to become a sponsor of a patient member and in return will receive an "I am a patient advocate" pin and patient membership form. Sponsors will obtain a patient's permission upon returning home and sign up the patient for a "free" 1 year membership to AAWC (patient/lay-caregiver membership dues are $30/annually). Anyone can sponsor a patient member (e.g., AAWC member, clinician, family member, friend, etc.); however, sponsors who do not have patients can opt to have the AAWC find patients for them to sponsor.

Concurrent with the introduction of this initiative, AAWC will be launching its newly developed AAWC Patient / Caregiver Center at the AAWC website (www.aawconline.org). The site will feature wound care information and education in layman's terms to advance patients' understanding regarding proper wound care, best practices and how to ensure their optimal care.

AAWC patient members or those lay-caregivers who will join on patients' behalves will receive all of the same benefits of membership given to clinician members, including a monthly subscription to OWM & WOUNDS, a quarterly newsletter with a patient focused column, as well as access to a patient-run and patient-managed support network. Additional patient-specific benefits will be developed over time with input from the new patient membership through an organized strategic planning initiative led by the AAWC Patient Advocacy Committee, chaired by Laurie Rappl, PT, CWS, AAWC Member and T-12 paraplegic.

"We are pleased that our sponsorship will provide 100 patients with free access to this important initiative," commented Komel Grover, HEALTHPOINT's Director of Medical Education and Scientific Communications. "It is our hope that the resources made available through the AAWC program will provide patients and their caregivers with information and encouragement that will help them manage the challenges associated with their wound care."