Little Hercules Foundation and Team Joseph launch the Duchenne Family Assistance Program, to provide resources to families seeking care options and help navigating the appeals process.

“Historically, our focus has been funding research that leads to treatments for DMD. We’re finally seeing progress in the form of new treatments, but patients are having trouble accessing them,” says Kelly Maynard, president of Little Hercules Foundation, in a media release.

“On top of living with a nightmare disease like DMD, our families are having to navigate a complex payor system often to get denied access to care. Our children don’t have time for that, and our families deserve better.”

The new partnership between Little Hercules and Team Joseph will also expand services to include assistance in accessing equipment, travel, and education.

“While we remain committed to funding promising research and we believe in the real potential for future treatments, we know that there is a great need to help families right now, today,” states Marissa Penrod, founder of Team Joseph, per the release.

“The burden of caring for a child or young adult with Duchenne can be staggering. Through the program, we will ease this burden on families, helping them to provide the best quality of life for their child. We are thrilled to assist with medical equipment, travel to care centers, and home and vehicle modifications, and we look forward to helping as many families as possible,” she adds.

Little Hercules Foundation will provide case management services to patients and caregivers who have been denied access to care for Duchenne. Team Joseph will providie assistance that includes, but is not limited to, equipment (scooters, manual wheelchairs, shower chairs, etc), accessible ramps, transportation to clinic visits, vehicle and home modifications.

Assistance is also available for educational opportunities, such as conferences, so families can educate themselves about the therapeutic landscape and improved standards of care, the release explains.

[Source(s): Little Hercules Foundation, Team Joseph, Business Wire]