Alexandria, VA, May 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) has distributed a donation of 3,000 BOMBAS socks. NAFC distributed the socks to 11 clinics in 10 states who demonstrated the greatest need.
Among those clinics receiving socks is the Hawaii HOME Project.
“Our clinic services the homeless population in Hawaii, and socks are a very valuable commodity. The majority of our patients cannot afford to buy their own socks and foot care is extremely important in this population. We often see poor health outcomes like severe foot and lower leg infections associated with bad foot hygiene. While Hawaii doesn’t have very cold temperatures, one of the weather hazards that our patients have to deal with is heavy rain. Many times they keep on their drenched socks because that’s all they have, and they suffer from the subsequent infections that go along with that. On average we give out 10 pairs of socks every week, so this donated supply is extremely helpful,” said Dr. Jill Omori, Director of the Hawaii HOME Project.
Also receiving socks is The Night Ministry in Chicago, a clinic that serves over 400 people experiencing homelessness each year through its Street Medicine program, which finds and treats them on-site. Doctors on the Street Medicine team reported that they often see trench foot and foot fungus, largely due to lack of socks.
The donated BOMBAS socks are “engineered to specifically meet the needs of individuals who don’t have the luxury of putting on a clean pair of socks every day.” They have an antimicrobial treatment to ensure they don’t need to be washed as often and reinforced seams to give them greater durability.
“We’re so grateful for BOMBAS’s incredibly generous donation,” said Nicole Lamoureux, President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAFC. “These socks mean so much to our clinics and their patients. Many people don’t realize what an important role socks play in health and well-being. For patients experiencing homelessness and especially for our diabetic patients, clean, dry socks are so important to staying healthy. This donation will truly make a difference for the medically underserved across America.”
In addition to the Hawaii HOME Project in Honolulu, HI and the Night Ministry in Chicago, IL, the following NAFC members also received a donation of socks: By The Way Medical Mission Free Clinic, Lancaster, OH; Coastal Volunteers in Medicine, Forked River, NJ; Free Clinic of Steele County, Owatonna, MN; Hannibal Free Clinic, Hannibal, MO; La Clinica Cristiana, Muscle Shoals, AL; The CarePlace, Douglasville, GA; Samaritan Regional Health Clinic, Cape Girardeau, MO; St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy, Dallas, TX; and Tampa Bay Street Medicine, Tampa, FL.
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The National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) is the only nonprofit 501c(3) organization whose mission is solely focused on the issues and needs of the medically underserved throughout the nation and the more than 1,400 Free and Charitable Clinics that serve them. The NAFC has earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar. Founded in 2001 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., the NAFC is working to ensure that the medically underserved have access to affordable quality health care and strives to be a national voice promoting quality health care for all. For more information about the NAFC, please visit www.nafcclinics.org. Follow the NAFC on Twitter at @NAFClinics and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NAFCClinics.