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Coronavirus and the Amputee Coalition

Mar 18, 2020 |

Like many of you, the Amputee Coalition is monitoring COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) as it continues to evolve day by day. As a nonprofit health advocacy organization, we want to communicate and engage on emerging health news responsibly. And, I want to share some of the changes we have made to prepare and protect our volunteers and staff.

Serving our community and ensuring the well-being of our team is at the forefront of all these decisions.

Our Volunteers and Staff
Starting this week, our physical offices are closed and the Amputee Coalition staff is running our programs and services remotely.

We have encouraged Support Group Leaders and Certified Peer Visitors to rely on social distance and other guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and use their best judgment about moving meetings to online or phone platforms, rather than meeting in person. We’ve asked volunteer leadership to be mindful of state and federal guidance about even very small gatherings or one-on-one conversations. As you know, people who are sick should stay home and not attend support group meetings or any other get-together.

National Limb Loss Resource Center
I am happy to let you know that the National Limb Loss Resource Center (1-888-267-5669) is fully operational. Our Resource Center staff are receiving and handling calls and email inquiries from their remote work locations. I am thankful to our Resource Center team as they continue to provide service to our community. We have not experienced any hiccups in our service operations during this time. We want to continue to ensure we can provide materials to our community safely and efficiently, so we are consulting with third-party fulfillment experts who are on top of new and developing safety protocols.

Our Events
We canceled our in-person Advocacy Forum (April 26-28) in Washington, D.C. As you may know, Congress has closed its D.C. offices for the foreseeable future, so virtual engagement is our best opportunity to educate lawmakers. We were disappointed to have to cancel the in-person component, and we are working to create an online experience that advocates can attend virtually. Together, we will learn more about advocacy, policy priorities, and how to educate Members of Congress about living with limb loss and limb difference. We will share more about this in a future email, on our website, and through our social media channels.

As of today, we still plan to host our 20th Annual Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp (July 7-12) and our National Conference (August 20-22). We will continue to evaluate the viability of both events as we receive new guidance from federal and state officials. We will keep you up to date about these events in future emails, on our website, and through our social media channels.

Preparing for and Protection from COVID-19
We recognize and value your role as a member of the community and that you may interact with populations who may be more susceptible to COVID-19. For the most up-to-date information and guidance on prevention and preparedness, please visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Coronavirus website.

We will continue to rely on trusted sources, like the CDC, for information about the disease. We encourage all of you to follow public health guidance regarding school closures, avoiding crowds, and other social/physical distancing measures. The CDC and your physician’s office are your best sources of information for COVID-19 diagnosis, prevention, and management questions.

Thank you for supporting our mission and our community during this time. We will continue to be in touch about any other organizational or operational adjustments we make related to COVID-19. We hope you and yours are doing okay and feeling well.

Warmly,
Mary Richards
President and CEO
Amputee Coalition