Multiple Sclerosis Association Of America Inc

THE ASSOC. IMPROVES LIVES TODAY FOR THE ENTIRE MS COMMUNITY THROUGH VITAL SERVICES AND SUPPORT.

1- PATIENT SERVICES: THE ASSOCIATION'S MRI ACCESS PROGRAM PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR MS PATIENTS OR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SUSPECTED MS TO OBTAIN AN MRI SCAN FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING A DIAGNOSIS OR TRACKING PROGRESSION. THE PROGRAM SERVES INDIVIDUALS WHOSE INCOME IS UNDER 300% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES AND ARE OTHERWISE UNABLE DUE TO BEING UNINSURED OR UNDER-INSURED TO PAY FOR AN MRI ON THEIR OWN. DURING FY22, MSAA APPROVED MORE THAN 1,000 ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS FOR MRI SCANS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $586,000. (CONTINUE IN SCHEDULE O)THE ASSOCIATION'S COOLING AND EQUIPMENT DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM HELPS INDIVIDUALS WITH MS OBTAIN THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BEST MANAGE THEIR MS. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES SPECIAL COOLING APPAREL WHICH HELPS ALLEVIATE HEAT SENSITIVITY ISSUES FOR MS PATIENTS, AS WELL AS DURABLE MEDICAL AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT AT NO CHARGE TO MS PATIENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. DURING FY22 THE ASSOCIATION DELIVERED NEARLY 2,000 PIECES OF SAFETY, MOBILITY, AND SYMPTOM-MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS TO INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY MS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $256,000. ALSO, AS NOTED BELOW, MSAA ADDED COVID-19 FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVERS TO THESE PROGRAMS TO HELP SUPPORT FAMILIES DEVASTATED BY THE PANDEMIC. DURING FY21 MSAA EXPANDED THE HOURS OF ITS NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE AND MADE SEVERAL REVISIONS TO OUR CORE SIGNATURE SERVICES IN RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MS COMMUNITY. (MSAA'S EXTENDED HELPLINE HOURS CONTINUED THROUGHOUT FY22 AND HAVE REMAINED IN FY23.) MOST NOTABLY, WE ADDED A COVID-19 ECONOMIC HARDSHIP WAIVER TO THE EQUIPMENT AND COOLING DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS AND THE MRI ACCESS PROGRAM SO FAMILIES EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL CRISIS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC CAN SELECT THIS OPTION TO QUALIFY IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE NOT MEET ANNUAL INCOME GUIDELINES. ADDITIONALLY, CERTAIN APPLICATION DOCUMENTS ARE NOW OPTIONAL IF INDIVIDUALS CANNOT CONNECT WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN DUE TO CONCERNS OR LIMITATIONS IN TRAVELING TO MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS. ALL THREE PROGRAMS NOW OFFER ONLINE APPLICATIONS WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON MYMSAA.ORG. PROGRAM APPLICATIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AS PDF DOWNLOADS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH FROM THE WEBSITE. THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR, MSAA HOSTED WELL-ATTENDED VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS COVID-19 AND OTHER VITAL TOPICS TO THE MS COMMUNITY INCLUDING WEBINARS ON HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC AMERICAN POPULATIONS, MS RESEARCH, NUTRITION, AND WELLNESS, AS WELL AS OTHER IMPORTANT TOPICS. IN ADDITION, WORK BEGAN ON MSAA'S ULTIMATE MS TREATMENT GUIDE, AN INNOVATIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE DIGITAL TOOL TO HELP THE MS COMMUNITY LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFERENT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS DISEASE-MODIFYING THERAPIES.

2- PUBLIC EDUCATION, INFORMATION & REFERRAL: THE ASSOCIATION'S NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS DELIVER HIGH-QUALITY, INFORMATIVE PROGRAMMING TO MS PATIENTS, CARE PARTNERS AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS NATIONWIDE. THESE PROGRAMS COVER A VARIETY OF TOPICS ALL AIMED AT IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR MS PATIENTS. THE ASSOCIATION PARTNERS WITH A NATIONAL NETWORK OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TO PRESENT PROGRAMS OF SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL VALUE. THESE IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS COVER A WIDE BREADTH OF TOPICS, RANGING FROM ADVANCES IN DISEASE RESEARCH AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, TO NUTRITION AND WELLNESS ACTIVITIES AS WELL AS PROGRAMS TAILORED TO MEN/WOMEN LIVING WITH MS AND PROGRAMS CURATED FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS. (CONTINUE IN SCHEDULE O)THE ASSOCIATION ALSO REGULARLY OFFERS VIRTUAL AND DIGITAL-PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON SCIENTIFIC UPDATES IN DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND BEST PRACTICES IN TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS THAT TREAT THOSE LIVING WITH MS, SUCH AS NEUROLOGISTS AND NURSES. IN 2019, MSAA ALSO CONVENED THE MS AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADVISORY BOARD, COMPRISED OF MS HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, PATIENTS AND CARE PARTNERS, TO DEVELOP A FIVE YEAR PLAN OF INITIATIVES TO SERVE THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MS PATIENT COMMUNITY. ADDITIONALLY, MSAA CONVENED A SERIES OF ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS WITH LEADING MS NEUROLOGISTS AND PAYERS TO EXPLORE HOW THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM COULD BETTER SERVE THE MS COMMUNITY AND IDENTIFY COMMON INTERESTS. THE FINDINGS FROM BOTH OF THESE INITIATIVES ARE BEING DEVELOPED AS WHITE PAPERS AND WILL BE BROADLY DISSEMINATED WITHIN THE MS COMMUNITY.THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, VIDEOS, PODCASTS, THE ASSOCIATION'S WEBSITE, A HELPLINE, AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, THE ASSOCIATION PROVIDES THE MS COMMUNITY AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITH VITAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISEASE, THE MANAGEMENT OF SYMPTOMS AND BREAKTHROUGHS IN RESEARCH. THE ASSOCIATION PUBLISHES A NATIONAL MAGAZINE THE MOTIVATOR DISTRIBUTED BIANNUALLY WITH A CIRCULATION OF APPROXIMATELY 95,000. THE MAGAZINE IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DIGITAL EDITION. INDIVIDUAL CLIENT NEEDS ARE MET THROUGH THE ASSOCIATION'S NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE. OUR TRAINED SOCIAL WORKERS RESPONDED TO MORE THAN 16,500 CLIENT INQUIRIES IN FY22 AND PROVIDED THESE CLIENTS WITH CONTACTS TO APPROPRIATE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE NATION. THE ASSOCIATION'S WEBSITE HAD MORE THAN 680,000 SESSIONS DURING THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2022. THE ASSOCIATION OFFERS A MOBILE PHONE APPLICATION TO ASSIST ITS CLIENTS IN MONITORING, TRACKING AND MANAGING THEIR MS AS WELL AS SHARINGE DATA WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN. THE ASSOCIATION EMPLOYS VARIOUS DIGITAL TACTICS TO COMMUNICATE WITH ITS CONSTITUENTS. THE ASSOCIATION IS ACTIVE ON 6 DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. THE ASSOCIATION ALSO HOSTS A BLOG, OFFERS AN ONLINE PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNITY AND ANSWERS QUESTIONS THROUGH ITS MS QUESTIONS EMAIL OPTION AND WEBSITE CHAT FEATURE. THE ASSOCIATION RECEIVED A GOOGLE GRANT VALUED AT $124,834 IN FY'22. THIS ALLOWED THE ASSOCIATION TO PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION'S PROGRAMS AND SERVICES VIA KEYWORDS THROUGH GOOGLE'S SEARCH ENGINE IN AN EFFORT TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ONLINE RELATED TO MS.

MSAA RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING AWARDS DURING FY22: APEX GRAND AWARD IN THE CATEGORY OF ONE-OF-A-KIND PUBLICATIONS FOR MS RELAPSE TOOLKIT (SECOND EDITION); GOLD AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION AWARDS FOR MS RELAPSE TOOLKIT (SECOND EDITION); SILVER DIGITAL HEALTH AWARD FOR MSAA'S ASK THE EXPERT SERIES FEATURED IN MSAA'S BLOG, MS CONVERSATIONS; BRONZE DIGITAL HEALTH AWARD FOR THE PUBLICATION, IT'S A GENERATIONAL THING: CREATING AN UNDERSTANDING OF MS BETWEEN PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN; MERIT AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION AWARDS FOR THE COVER STORY, "PLANNING FOR FUTURE CARE" IN THE SUMMER/FALL 2021 ISSUE OF THE MOTIVATOR MAGAZINE.

IN 2022, MSAA RELEASED THE ULTIMATE MS TREATMENT GUIDE, A FIRST OF ITS KIND REFERENCE TOOL THAT AIDES THOSE LIVING WITH MS, THEIR LOVED ONES, AND COMMUNITY NEUROLOGISTS IN BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE WIDE ARRAY OF DISEASE MODIFYING THERAPIES AVAILABLE TO THE MS COMMUNITY. THE ULTIMATE MS TREATMENT GUIDE IS FULLY INTERACTIVE AND ALLOWS USERS TO FILTER AVAILABLE THERAPY OPTIONS BY TYPE OF MS, HOW IT'S TAKEN, AND BY DATE APPROVED BY THE FDA. THE ULTIMATE MS TREATMENT GUIDE ALSO INCLUDES IN-DEPTH TESTIMONIALS FROM LEADING MS SPECIALISTS AND PATIENT ADVOCATES ON EACH OF ITS PAGES, AS WELL AS A COMPARISON TOOL, ALLOWING A USER TO DIRECTLY COMPARE UP TO THREE MS THERAPIES AT ONE TIME.

1- PATIENT SERVICES: THE ASSOCIATION'S MRI ACCESS PROGRAM PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR MS PATIENTS OR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SUSPECTED MS TO OBTAIN AN MRI SCAN FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING A DIAGNOSIS OR TRACKING PROGRESSION. THE PROGRAM SERVES INDIVIDUALS WHOSE INCOME IS UNDER 300% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES AND ARE OTHERWISE UNABLE DUE TO BEING UNINSURED OR UNDER-INSURED TO PAY FOR AN MRI ON THEIR OWN. DURING FY22, MSAA APPROVED MORE THAN 1,000 ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS FOR MRI SCANS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $586,000. (CONTINUE IN SCHEDULE O)THE ASSOCIATION'S COOLING AND EQUIPMENT DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM HELPS INDIVIDUALS WITH MS OBTAIN THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BEST MANAGE THEIR MS. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES SPECIAL COOLING APPAREL WHICH HELPS ALLEVIATE HEAT SENSITIVITY ISSUES FOR MS PATIENTS, AS WELL AS DURABLE MEDICAL AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT AT NO CHARGE TO MS PATIENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. DURING FY22 THE ASSOCIATION DELIVERED NEARLY 2,000 PIECES OF SAFETY, MOBILITY, AND SYMPTOM-MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS TO INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY MS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $256,000. ALSO, AS NOTED BELOW, MSAA ADDED COVID-19 FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVERS TO THESE PROGRAMS TO HELP SUPPORT FAMILIES DEVASTATED BY THE PANDEMIC. DURING FY21 MSAA EXPANDED THE HOURS OF ITS NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE AND MADE SEVERAL REVISIONS TO OUR CORE SIGNATURE SERVICES IN RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MS COMMUNITY. (MSAA'S EXTENDED HELPLINE HOURS CONTINUED THROUGHOUT FY22 AND HAVE REMAINED IN FY23.) MOST NOTABLY, WE ADDED A COVID-19 ECONOMIC HARDSHIP WAIVER TO THE EQUIPMENT AND COOLING DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS AND THE MRI ACCESS PROGRAM SO FAMILIES EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL CRISIS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC CAN SELECT THIS OPTION TO QUALIFY IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE NOT MEET ANNUAL INCOME GUIDELINES. ADDITIONALLY, CERTAIN APPLICATION DOCUMENTS ARE NOW OPTIONAL IF INDIVIDUALS CANNOT CONNECT WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN DUE TO CONCERNS OR LIMITATIONS IN TRAVELING TO MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS. ALL THREE PROGRAMS NOW OFFER ONLINE APPLICATIONS WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON MYMSAA.ORG. PROGRAM APPLICATIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AS PDF DOWNLOADS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH FROM THE WEBSITE. THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR, MSAA HOSTED WELL-ATTENDED VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS COVID-19 AND OTHER VITAL TOPICS TO THE MS COMMUNITY INCLUDING WEBINARS ON HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC AMERICAN POPULATIONS, MS RESEARCH, NUTRITION, AND WELLNESS, AS WELL AS OTHER IMPORTANT TOPICS. IN ADDITION, WORK BEGAN ON MSAA'S ULTIMATE MS TREATMENT GUIDE, AN INNOVATIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE DIGITAL TOOL TO HELP THE MS COMMUNITY LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFERENT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS DISEASE-MODIFYING THERAPIES.

2- PUBLIC EDUCATION, INFORMATION & REFERRAL: THE ASSOCIATION'S NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS DELIVER HIGH-QUALITY, INFORMATIVE PROGRAMMING TO MS PATIENTS, CARE PARTNERS AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS NATIONWIDE. THESE PROGRAMS COVER A VARIETY OF TOPICS ALL AIMED AT IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR MS PATIENTS. THE ASSOCIATION PARTNERS WITH A NATIONAL NETWORK OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TO PRESENT PROGRAMS OF SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL VALUE. THESE IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS COVER A WIDE BREADTH OF TOPICS, RANGING FROM ADVANCES IN DISEASE RESEARCH AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, TO NUTRITION AND WELLNESS ACTIVITIES AS WELL AS PROGRAMS TAILORED TO MEN/WOMEN LIVING WITH MS AND PROGRAMS CURATED FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS. (CONTINUE IN SCHEDULE O)THE ASSOCIATION ALSO REGULARLY OFFERS VIRTUAL AND DIGITAL-PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON SCIENTIFIC UPDATES IN DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND BEST PRACTICES IN TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS THAT TREAT THOSE LIVING WITH MS, SUCH AS NEUROLOGISTS AND NURSES. IN 2019, MSAA ALSO CONVENED THE MS AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADVISORY BOARD, COMPRISED OF MS HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, PATIENTS AND CARE PARTNERS, TO DEVELOP A FIVE YEAR PLAN OF INITIATIVES TO SERVE THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MS PATIENT COMMUNITY. ADDITIONALLY, MSAA CONVENED A SERIES OF ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS WITH LEADING MS NEUROLOGISTS AND PAYERS TO EXPLORE HOW THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM COULD BETTER SERVE THE MS COMMUNITY AND IDENTIFY COMMON INTERESTS. THE FINDINGS FROM BOTH OF THESE INITIATIVES ARE BEING DEVELOPED AS WHITE PAPERS AND WILL BE BROADLY DISSEMINATED WITHIN THE MS COMMUNITY.THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, VIDEOS, PODCASTS, THE ASSOCIATION'S WEBSITE, A HELPLINE, AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, THE ASSOCIATION PROVIDES THE MS COMMUNITY AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITH VITAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISEASE, THE MANAGEMENT OF SYMPTOMS AND BREAKTHROUGHS IN RESEARCH. THE ASSOCIATION PUBLISHES A NATIONAL MAGAZINE THE MOTIVATOR DISTRIBUTED BIANNUALLY WITH A CIRCULATION OF APPROXIMATELY 95,000. THE MAGAZINE IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DIGITAL EDITION. INDIVIDUAL CLIENT NEEDS ARE MET THROUGH THE ASSOCIATION'S NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE. OUR TRAINED SOCIAL WORKERS RESPONDED TO MORE THAN 16,500 CLIENT INQUIRIES IN FY22 AND PROVIDED THESE CLIENTS WITH CONTACTS TO APPROPRIATE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE NATION. THE ASSOCIATION'S WEBSITE HAD MORE THAN 680,000 SESSIONS DURING THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2022. THE ASSOCIATION OFFERS A MOBILE PHONE APPLICATION TO ASSIST ITS CLIENTS IN MONITORING, TRACKING AND MANAGING THEIR MS AS WELL AS SHARINGE DATA WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN. THE ASSOCIATION EMPLOYS VARIOUS DIGITAL TACTICS TO COMMUNICATE WITH ITS CONSTITUENTS. THE ASSOCIATION IS ACTIVE ON 6 DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. THE ASSOCIATION ALSO HOSTS A BLOG, OFFERS AN ONLINE PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNITY AND ANSWERS QUESTIONS THROUGH ITS MS QUESTIONS EMAIL OPTION AND WEBSITE CHAT FEATURE. THE ASSOCIATION RECEIVED A GOOGLE GRANT VALUED AT $124,834 IN FY'22. THIS ALLOWED THE ASSOCIATION TO PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION'S PROGRAMS AND SERVICES VIA KEYWORDS THROUGH GOOGLE'S SEARCH ENGINE IN AN EFFORT TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ONLINE RELATED TO MS.

MSAA RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING AWARDS DURING FY22: APEX GRAND AWARD IN THE CATEGORY OF ONE-OF-A-KIND PUBLICATIONS FOR MS RELAPSE TOOLKIT (SECOND EDITION); GOLD AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION AWARDS FOR MS RELAPSE TOOLKIT (SECOND EDITION); SILVER DIGITAL HEALTH AWARD FOR MSAA'S ASK THE EXPERT SERIES FEATURED IN MSAA'S BLOG, MS CONVERSATIONS; BRONZE DIGITAL HEALTH AWARD FOR THE PUBLICATION, IT'S A GENERATIONAL THING: CREATING AN UNDERSTANDING OF MS BETWEEN PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN; MERIT AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION AWARDS FOR THE COVER STORY, "PLANNING FOR FUTURE CARE" IN THE SUMMER/FALL 2021 ISSUE OF THE MOTIVATOR MAGAZINE.

IN 2022, MSAA RELEASED THE ULTIMATE MS TREATMENT GUIDE, A FIRST OF ITS KIND REFERENCE TOOL THAT AIDES THOSE LIVING WITH MS, THEIR LOVED ONES, AND COMMUNITY NEUROLOGISTS IN BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE WIDE ARRAY OF DISEASE MODIFYING THERAPIES AVAILABLE TO THE MS COMMUNITY. THE ULTIMATE MS TREATMENT GUIDE IS FULLY INTERACTIVE AND ALLOWS USERS TO FILTER AVAILABLE THERAPY OPTIONS BY TYPE OF MS, HOW IT'S TAKEN, AND BY DATE APPROVED BY THE FDA. THE ULTIMATE MS TREATMENT GUIDE ALSO INCLUDES IN-DEPTH TESTIMONIALS FROM LEADING MS SPECIALISTS AND PATIENT ADVOCATES ON EACH OF ITS PAGES, AS WELL AS A COMPARISON TOOL, ALLOWING A USER TO DIRECTLY COMPARE UP TO THREE MS THERAPIES AT ONE TIME.