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The Kinkaid Foundation’s MissionThe Kinkaid Foundation’s mission is to provide support for patients-in-need who are in aftercare regimens following treatment. We provide support in aftercare through the provision of financial, administrative and training support for both patients and their caregivers. We also support other charitable organizations that provide benefits and services in support of patients in aftercare and their caregivers. Who Do You Know...Now, let’s take a brief side trip. Turns out that many of the people we know, in fact, some of our dearest friends and families, suffer from assorted medical conditions. Diabetes. Multiple Sclerosis. Lupus. Scleroderma. Cancer. Etc. The list goes on. Of course, our immediate circle of friends and acquaintances is hardly unique in that fashion; virtually any group of three of more people has at least one member who suffers from a severe, life-debilitating illness of some sort. Look at your own extended family and friends and you’ll undoubtedly find more than a handful of people you know and love that suffer from something or other. In our case, we’ve decided to do something about it. Sure, there are already foundations and organizations and research groups and charities and schools and scientists who are working day and night to try to find cures for these diseases. Or new, viable treatments. Or, in many cases, the simple root cause of the illness. And in many cases, these groups and individuals are at least reasonably well-funded and are making great advances towards eliminating these diseases or in reducing their effects. But we’ve found that there’s one area that’s woefully under-served by the charitable community: aftercare support. Specifically, caregiver support. Aftercare Support & CaregiversOnce a patient has been through treatment, and is either starting the road to full recovery or at least on the path to a stabile condition, the need for support actually increases. The task of providing this support falls on the patient’s caregiver(s), usually a family member or a close friend who steps up to help. A major problem, however, is that these caregivers are not usually trained in the art and practice of providing assistance. There are thousand little things that a caregiver needs to do, and there’s very little in the way of information or training available to help them figure it out. Simple things like changing dressings or shopping or cleaning house are fairly easy to figure out, but what about tracking down benefits from a bureaucracy like Medicare? Arranging appointments for treatment? Making sure the patient actually goes to these appointments? Researching and procuring durable medical equipment? Dealing with the insurance or lack-of-insurance situation? Patients in aftercare often find themselves totally committed to simply recovering, with little time or energy to deal with managing their own aftercare program. All too often, a spouse or other relative or loved one pitches in to help, takes on the roll of being the primary caregiver, and is quickly overwhelmed by the tasks. The Kinkaid Foundation provides aftercare support for patients and their caregivers. We provide: v Grant awards that ensure bridge funding to cover expenses that are not otherwise covered by traditional insurance or benefit resources; v Patient advocates to help deal with the bureaucracies of benefit providers; v Training and support for caregivers to improve the quality of their own patient support activities; and v Administrative support for the management of aftercare activities and finances. Information about our grant and award programs may be
found on our Grants &
Awards page. Help Support the Kinkaid FoundationThat’s who we are and what we do. We encourage your tax-deductible donations to help support the Kinkaid Foundation’s work. We are also pleased to keep you up to date on upcoming benefit concerts and other activities that support the Foundation. Thank you for considering a gift to the foundation and letting us know how you would like to stay connected. Please join our mailing list and make a donation. We hope that you will join with us in this endeavor and help us fulfill this mission. If we do this right, we can make a difference, and have one hell of a good time in the process. Thanks! – Nic Grabien
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