Healing Hand Foundation was established 15 years ago — Oct. 17, 2001, in order to help with unfunded medical needs — health-related necessities such as durable medical goods, prescriptions and patient escort travel for SEARHC beneficiaries and veterans.
The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) provides major medical services and offers an array of wellness and healthcare programs. There remains, however, a significant gap in the coverage. Dentures, eyeglasses, hearing aids, some types of prescriptions and travel escort expenses are not covered. Healing Hand Foundation is available to assist if SEARHC and insurance cannot cover a cost. Beneficiaries, or their families, are expected to pay half the cost, so if a beneficiary, for example, needs a pair of prescription eyeglasses that cost $400, Healing Hand will pay $200, and the beneficiary pays half
This year, and for the past 15 years, Healing Hand Foundation has been providing needed assistance. In 2015, 95 people received assistance and 76 received durable medical equipment — walkers, nebulizers, hearing aids, dentures and eye glasses.
Healing Hand Foundation’s Executive Director, Kristin McTague, can be reached at 364-4402. The foundation’s website is hhf-ak.org.
