October 6th marked the night of the 8th Annual “A Cure is Coming” Dinner and Auction benefiting the Michael-Ryan Pattison foundation, and for the approximately 270 of you who were able to make the event (and those of you who donated, but were not able to attend), I want to thank you from the deepest part of my heart for making another incredible night for the foundation. Although many things were new this year, one thing always stays constant: your undying support and belief in our mission to provide a better quality of life and create opportunities for individuals living with paralysis. Your willingness to give so generously amounted to $160,000 which will go towards helping us accomplish our ultimate goal: building a rehab facility where not only the physical aspects of people coping with true devastation will be addressed, but also the mental and spiritual elements of those individuals as they learn how to cope with life after realizing what living with paralysis means.
We realize that this is not enough money to build a rehabilitation facility tomorrow, but it is enough to continue our growth and employ the necessary individuals and specialists to help us reach our final goal. It will also allow us to reach out to individuals who have been recently injured and help assist them and their families in whatever way they may need. For instance your generosity over the last several years allowed our organization to help a friend of mine from high school who six months ago broke his neck diving into Lake Washington. We were able to make his house accessible and livable, which I know he and his family are very thankful for. I’m so grateful for the fact that your generosity continues to allow us to make an immediate impact on people’s lives that so desperately need it.
Our next steps are to figure out whether we go forward by building a facility that will accept insurance–a very extensive and long process–or choose to franchise with an existing private pay facility that is equally as reputable and will allow us to address the needs of individuals living with paralysis in the near future. Right now we are leaning towards going with a private pay model for a few reasons: in this economy, it seems much more feasible to reach the goal of an insurance-based model by opening doors to physical therapies that will show results and data of not only mobility regained by people with paralysis, but also the overall improvement of quality of life. This will allow us to approach insurance companies and put together a physician network in order to go after reimbursement rates in the future.
In addition, as the number of people that suffer from catastrophic injuries continues to hit closer to home, it reinforces the fact that something needs to be done now. Because of this, basing physical rehabilitation around a private pay model seems to be a more effective goal. If we decide to go the private pay route, the foundation will be more important than ever, as we will work together to raise funds in order to subsidize individuals who may not be able to pay for all or some of their rehabilitation. We will make sure that any individual who needs help and therapy will receive it; mind, body, and spirit.
I thank you so much for continuing to believe in me and this organization, and the great things that we strive to accomplish. I encourage you to spread the word about what we are working towards and please continue to stay involved. In turn, we will do our best to keep you updated on our progress.
God bless,
MR Pattison