This Burn Awareness Week, Burn and Reconstructive Centers of America wants to recognize the foundations and non-profit organizations that support our mission: Healing patients. Healing families. Healing lives.® Their contributions to the health and wellbeing of our patients are how we deliver consistent, quality care at facilities across the country.
Angel Flight Soars™
Angel Flight Soars™ provides free air transportation to children and adults in need of non-emergency healthcare services outside their immediate locale. The volunteer pilot organization transports patients to points of care throughout Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and the Carolinas. Every day, they aim to coordinate at least nine missions. In 2021 alone, they coordinated a total of 979 flights for the benefit of BRCA patients, with the help of 1,200 volunteer pilots. In addition, this organization helps many of our far-away patients, like Charles Potter, attend appointments essential to their recovery journeys.
BRCA Foundation
Since 2018, BRCA Foundation has advanced burn care education, prevention and awareness in communities across the country. The foundation supports providers caring for patients and addresses the gaps in prevention education through relevant age- and occupation-based education, scholarship and community outreach initiatives. Their education initiatives include live events (JMS Burn Symposium), online courses, live burn care lectures (advanced burn life support, emergency burn care, etc.), podcasts and prevention superhero Phoenix Powers®. BRCA Foundation is accredited by the Medical Association of Georgia, associated with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, to provide Continuing Medical Education and Certified Education opportunities to health care professionals.
They also host the annual JMS Burn Symposium, where each year, some of the leading experts in the burn care continuum are invited to present on the most relevant or innovative burn care topics. Topics have included everything from acute care treatment, psychological care of the burn patient and long-term reconstruction. In addition, each year, they have a burn survivor attend as a guest of honor to speak on their individual experiences and recovery journeys.
To read more about the 2021 JMS Burn Symposium guest of honor, Patricia Perkins, click here.
For more information about CME/CE opportunities, click here.
To download free Phoenix Powers coloring book pages, click here.
Burn Foundation of America
For many BRCA patients and their families, the Burn Foundation of America is a helping hand during a trying time. While patients receive treatment at the burn center, the non-profit organization offers loved ones a place to stay at the Chavis House, where they serve more than 1,000 guests per year. They also assist with transportation to and from appointments and resources essential to the healing process, such as medications, anti-scarring garments and more. They currently provide assistance at five BRCA facilities across Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Idaho.
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) survivor Andre Williams was so impacted by BFA’s support during his recovery that he wanted to give back. To read about William’s journey overcoming SJS and raising money through his SJS awareness campaign, click here.
JMS Research Foundation
An affiliate of Burn and Reconstructive Centers of America, the JMS Research Foundation focuses on advancing burn care across BRCA’s care system, the country and the world. This foundation works with our patients in safe clinical studies often involving treatments they’ll already be receiving, such as skin grafts. Outside of the hospital walls, the JMS Research Foundation assists in educating healthcare professionals both here in the U.S. and underdeveloped countries on proper burn care techniques to improve quality of life and decrease burn mortality.
See a list of JMS Research Foundation’s 2020 publications here.
Phoenix Society
Burn injuries can be life-altering. To help heal the whole patient, BRCA partners with the Phoenix Society’s SOAR (Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery) program, which connects peer supporters with current and past burn survivors and their families to supplement the recovery process. These trained peer supporters relate with patients and families through their shared experiences as burn survivors or loved ones of burn survivors. The SOAR program is available at the headquarters of BRCA and is currently under consideration at more burn centers across BRCA’s care system.
Stories from peer supporters/burn survivors include Kevin Vann and Christian Cooper. Click to read more.
Without these organizations to help educate, accommodate and advance the treatment of our patients, Burn and Reconstructive Centers of America would not be able to provide the consistent quality and holistic care we do today. To find out more about your patient support systems or give back, please visit Ways to Give Back – Burn and Reconstructive Centers of America (burncenters.com).