Direct Relief's Activities in United States

For the more than 47 million Americans who lack health insurance, accessing medical care and medicine is difficult and prohibitively expensive. Community health centers, local public health clinics, and hospital emergency rooms are often the only options for them to seek treatment.

Direct Relief’s safety-net clinic program delivers medicine and supplies to clinics and health centers so they can treat their working-poor patients who would otherwise go without care.

Since the program began in 2004, Direct Relief has provided over $130 million (wholesale) in medicines and supplies to more than 1,200 healthcare partners in the U.S.  Direct Relief now has more than 200 ongoing relationships with health centers and clinics throughout Alabama, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Partners in Direct Relief’s program are required to meet strict federal, state, and local guidelines which require tight controls on donations.

Having worked in California for decades, Direct Relief expanded its support to centers and clinics serving hurricane-affected people along the Gulf Coast following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Direct Relief leveraged state and regional contacts to locate providers treating hurricane evacuees and delivered requested shipments from corporate medical donors and suppliers. In total, Direct Relief has provided more than $42.4 million in medical aid and $4.5 million in financial assistance to providers treating evacuees and victims of the hurricanes. Clinics that treat the uninsured became essential emergency medical responders. Read about our response to Hurricane Gustav and see a map of Gulf State sites that received hurricane preparedness packs in July.

Direct Relief is a licensed pharmacy distributor in 46 states; licenses are pending in the remaining four. These licenses allow Direct Relief to efficiently deliver medicines and aid to the patients who need them most. Most recently, Direct Relief received generous donations of medicines to treat asthma and diabetes, which were quickly dispatched to our trusted safety-net clinic partners.

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Featured Work

Action Before an Emergency: Direct Relief Assists Nonprofit Safety-Net Clinics Prepare for the Hurricane Season
The National Weather Service predicts an active 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. In preparation, Direct Relief has strengthened ties with the network of nonprofit safety-net clinics along the Gulf Coast that proved to be essential points of access for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita two years ago.  More »

Local Support: Santa Barbara County Programs
Supporting our home community has always been a priority for Direct Relief, from addressing unmet dental health needs, assisting the homeless, and helping our local schools prepare for a natural disaster.  More »

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Response and Ongoing Support
Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast, Direct Relief continues to support clinics in the region, providing more than $31 million in direct aid to healthcare partners comprised of $26.8 million (wholesale) in medical material aid and $4.5 million in targeted cash investments.  More »