CHRISTOPHER REEVE FOUNDATION AWARDS QUALITY OF LIFE GRANT TO THE ALS ASSOCIATION GREATER NEW YORK CHAPTER
Grant Will Directly Impact Those in the Metro Area.

The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter has been awarded a $7,500 Quality of Life grant from The Christopher Reeve Foundation (CRF). The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter was one of 90 nonprofit organizations around the world to receive a Quality of Life grant.

The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter will utilize the Quality of Life grant to support its Home Visit Program. This program provides a nurse, social worker, or assistive technology specialist to provide ALS patients in-home services such as: education and monitoring of feeding tube placements; home safety and access evaluation; training on assistive communication devices; evaluation and/or fitting of medical or augmentative communication equipment; supportive counseling; and end-of-life planning.

"Our Home Visit Program is an essential service for the more than 500 ALS patients in our service area. As their disease progresses and becomes more debilitating, it is increasingly difficult for them to leave their home to receive care. We are thrilled to receive a grant from the Christopher Reeve Foundation to support this very important program to improve the quality of life for those living with ALS," said Dorine Gordon, President of The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter.

Since 1999, when the Quality of Life program was conceived by the late Dana Reeve as a way for the CRF to help improve the day-to-day health and well-being of those living with paralysis, 1,163 grants totaling $9,220,980 have been awarded. The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter's Quality of Life grant, awarded as a Health Promotion grant, a special category of Quality of Life grants, is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"The Christopher Reeve Foundation is proud to carry on Christopher and Dana Reeve's amazing legacy and make a real difference in the lives of people living with paralysis, their families and communities," said Kathy Lewis, president and CEO of the CRF. "Our Quality of Life grantees help thousands of individuals Go Forward to lead happier - and healthier - lives."

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is an always-fatal neurodegenerative disease with no known cause, cure, or effective treatment. For more information on ALS or the services available for people and families living with ALS, please contact The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter at 1-800-672-8857.