Home » News & Announcements » The Sumaira Foundation Announces Partnership with Patients Rising’s Patient Helpline Foundation

The Sumaira Foundation Announces Partnership with Patients Rising’s Patient Helpline Foundation

Posted by: The Sumaira Foundation in News & Announcements

October 25, 2024 — The Sumaira Foundation (TSF) is pleased to announce a partnership with the Patients Rising’s “Patient Helpline” that can field patients and caregivers or loved ones from across the United States who are in need of healthcare assistance or advice living with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD).

The Patient Helpline, a program of Patients Rising, is a patient support and navigation program that provides online, email, and phone support to help connect patients to the services and guidance they need. They specialize in finding existing resources and providing expert advice (never medical advice) to chronic or rare illness patients and caregivers, and offer dispatch service (arrange and pay for transportation) to patients with low vision secondary to rare disease. 

Patient Helpline services:

• Find an organization that specializes in addressing patients specific concerns at the federal, state, or local level
• Give websites and phone numbers to problem-solving agencies
• Share solutions that have already been proven to help others
• Provide compassionate listening 
• Locate food pantries or housing support
• Provide guidance on how to fix errors in medical records
• Tell patients to whom they might report problems with medications
• Explain how hospice works and find local providers

Patient Helpline Dispatch Service offerings:

• Alleviate families struggling with these conditions from the financial and administrative burden of managing transportation needs 
• Ensure treatment compliance by reducing missed appointments
• Make access to care more equitable by introducing transportation services to rural and suburban communities

To request transportation service, patients can complete the form here. If you qualify for the program, The Patient Helpline Dispatch Service will book and pay for one-way or round-trip transportation for medical purposes, on a single calendar date.

ABOUT TSF

The Sumaira Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to generating global awareness of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), building communities of support for patients and their caregivers, supporting research and patient advocacy. To learn more about The Sumaira Foundation, please visit www.sumairafoundation.org 

ABOUT THE PATIENT HELPLINE

The Patient Helpline is a program of Patients Rising. Formed in 2015 as a 501(c)3, Patients Rising has developed a significant following of over 110,000 patients and caregivers and has guided more than 25,000 of them on their journeys to advocate for themselves and their loved ones to get the care and treatments they need to live a fulfilling life.