MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INC

PATIENT SERVICES: MSAA'S MRI ACCESS PROGRAM PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR MS PATIENTS OR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A SUSPECTED MS DIAGNOSIS OR WHO HAVE AN MS DIAGNOSIS AND NEED MRI SCANS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING A DIAGNOSIS OR TRACKING PROGRESSION. MSAA'S MRI, COOLING AND EQUIPMENT PROGRAM SERVES INDIVIDUALS WHOSE INCOME IS BELOW 300% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES AND ARE OTHERWISE UNABLE TO AFFORD MRI'S, COOLING VESTS AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT ITEMS. DURING FY24-25, MSAA APPROVED MORE THAN 144 ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS FOR MRI SCANS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $155,549.MSAA'S EQUIPMENT DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM HELPS INDIVIDUALS WITH MS OBTAIN EQUIPMENT ITEMS THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BEST MANAGE THEIR MS. MSAA'S COOLING PROGRAM PROVIDES COOLING APPAREL THAT HELPS TO ALLEVIATE HEAT SENSITIVITY ISSUES FOR MS PATIENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. DURING FY24-25 MSAA DELIVERED NEARLY 2,200 PIECES OF SAFETY, MOBILITY, AND COOLING PRODUCTS TO INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY MS WITH A VALUE IN EXCESS OF $269,000. MSAA'S NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE IS AVAIBLE MONDAY-FRIDAY 8:30AM-8PM EST. PROGRAM APPLICATIONS FOR OUR COOLING AND EQUIPMENT PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE AS PDF DOWNLOADS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH FROM THE WEBSITE AND YOU CAN ALSO APPLY DIRECTLY ON OUR WEBSITE. THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR, MSAA HOSTED WELL-ATTENDED VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO ADDRESS VITAL TOPICS TO THE MS COMMUNITY. SOME TOPICS INCLUDE: HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC AMERICAN POPULATIONS, MS RESEARCH, NUTRITION, AND WELLNESS, AS WELL AS OTHER IMPORTANT TOPICS.

PUBLIC EDUCATION, INFORMATION & REFERRAL: MSAA'S NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS DELIVER HIGH-QUALITY, INFORMATIVE PROGRAMMING TO INDIVIDUALS WITH MS, CARE PARTNERS, AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS NATIONWIDE. THESE PROGRAMS COVER A VARIETY OF TOPICS ALL AIMED AT IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH MS. MSAA PARTNERS WITH A NATIONAL NETWORK OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TO PRESENT PROGRAMS OF SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL VALUE. THESE IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS COVER A WIDE BREADTH OF TOPICS, RANGING FROM ADVANCES IN DISEASE RESEARCH AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, TO NUTRITION AND WELLNESS ACTIVITIES, AS WELL AS PROGRAMS FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS. (CONTINUE IN SCHEDULE O)MSAA ALSO REGULARLY OFFERS VIRTUAL AND DIGITAL PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON SCIENTIFIC UPDATES IN DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND BEST PRACTICES IN TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS WHO TREAT THOSE LIVING WITH MS. IN 2019, MSAA DEVELOPED AN AFRICAN AMERICAN ADVISORY BOARD AND A HISPANIC/LATINX ADVISORY BOARD COMPRISED OF MS HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH MS, AND CARE PARTNERS, TO DEVELOP INITIATIVES TO SERVE THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC/LATINX MS PATIENT COMMUNITIES. THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, WEBINARS, VIDEOS, PODCASTS, THE ORGANIZATION'S WEBSITE, A HELPLINE, AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, THE ASSOCIATION PROVIDES THE MS COMMUNITY AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITH VITAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISEASE, THE MANAGEMENT OF SYMPTOMS, RESEARCH UPDATES, AND WELLNESS STRATEGIES. THE ASSOCIATION PUBLISHES A NATIONAL MAGAZINE, THE MOTIVATOR, WHICH IS DISTRIBUTED BIANNUALLY WITH A CIRCULATION OF APPROXIMATELY 90,000. THE MAGAZINE IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DIGITAL EDITION. INDIVIDUAL CLIENT NEEDS ARE MET THROUGH THE ASSOCIATION'S NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HELPLINE. OUR TRAINED CLIENT SERVICES SPECIALISTS RESPONDED TO MORE THAN 15,000 CLIENT INQUIRIES IN FY25 AND PROVIDED CLIENTS WITH CONTACTS TO APPROPRIATE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE NATION. MSAA'S WEBSITE HAD MORE THAN 560,000 SESSIONS DURING THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2025. THE ASSOCIATION OFFERS A MOBILE PHONE APPLICATION TO ASSIST ITS CLIENTS IN MONITORING, TRACKING, AND MANAGING THEIR MS AS WELL AS SHARING DATA WITH THEIR PHYSICIANS. THE ASSOCIATION EMPLOYS VARIOUS DIGITAL TACTICS TO COMMUNICATE WITH ITS CONSTITUENTS. THE ASSOCIATION IS ACTIVE ON 7 DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. THE ASSOCIATION ALSO HOSTS A BLOG, OFFERS AN ONLINE PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNITY, AND ANSWERS QUESTIONS THROUGH ITS MS QUESTIONS EMAIL OPTION AND WEBSITE CHAT FEATURE. THE ASSOCIATION RECEIVED A GOOGLE GRANT VALUED AT $89,235 IN FY25. THIS ALLOWED THE ASSOCIATION TO PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION'S PROGRAMS AND SERVICES VIA KEYWORDS THROUGH GOOGLE'S SEARCH ENGINE IN AN EFFORT TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ONLINE RELATED TO MS.