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Abbott Katrina Response
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To our community friends:
Many of you have asked what Abbott Labs was and is doing for Katrina relief. As a pharmaceutical company, Abbott was one of the first on the scene with diagnostics and aid. As you will see from the information below, we are committed to helping all people who need assistance in the hurricane effected areas.
This is not a press release and is only a way to answer your questions. We appreciate your feedback and if there is anything else we can do to answer your questions, please let me know.
Abbott Patient Assistance Program-Hurricane Katrina Victims
We have implemented the following changes to the Abbott Patient Assistance Program (PAP) process to expedite PAP application processing from physician offices and clinics that contact us and are taking on patients from the hurricane area for Abbott medications on the Abbott Patient Assistance Program:
- New patients may complete an Abbott PAP application; the application must be signed and dated by physician and patient. All physician and patient information must be completed on the application.
- We encourage any patient who is not able to access Norvir or Kaletra, especially those affected by Hurricane Katrina, to apply for assistance through our patient assistance program. Through our program, qualified patients can generally receive Norvir and Kaletra at their physician's office within 3-5 days following submission of a complete application. Our normal application process is especially appropriate for Katrina victims as there is no requirement to submit proof of income.
- In cases where patients are currently enrolled on our program and are seeking assistance from a new office and contact us for refills or replacement medication, we are asking their new treating physician to provide an application. Based on the new application and the patient's previous program approval, we will ship replacement or refill medication to their new physician's office.
- We have established a Hurricane Katrina fax line: 847-936-0447 to prioritize our response to these patients. They need to write "Katrina" at the top of the application to indicate the patient is a Katrina victim.
- Additionally we are referring people to their local Red Cross chapter and providing the FEMA toll free number.
* Three 80-foot-long "Architour" semi-trailers, or "labs on wheels", provided health care staff working at mobile hospitals with the latest advanced diagnostic equipment to treat hurricane victims in key areas. One of the trailers in Houston became an integral part of the mobile hospital located at the Astrodome, and two additional Abbott Architour trailers were dispatched to Oschner Hospital in New Orleans and Davis, Oklahoma.
o Abbott's hand-held i-STAT blood analyzers were provided to health care staff to assist with on-the-ground diagnosis and care for patients. The mobile devices provide diagnostics results in minutes for a wide range of critical blood tests, including basic metabolism, hydration, blood glucose, and markers for kidney and cardiac function.
+ An initial $4.5 million in nutritional, medical and pharmaceutical products were shipped to help victims of the disaster.
# $2 million in cash donations were provided key relief organizations to assist with relief efforts.
* Working through disaster relief organizations including the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, America's Second Harvest and MAP International, key nutritional products were rapidly distributed to those in need after the disaster struck. Abbott's product contributions included pediatric and adult nutritional products such as Similac infant formula, PediSure nutrition drinks, Pedialyte rehydration solutions and Ensure and ZonePerfect bars, as well as antibiotics and additional medications.
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