Employees volunteer downtime, lend FODAC a hand

When employees at the new KEDPlasma found themselves ready to work, but unable to use their new Lilburn facility due to a construction delay, they were determined not to let their idle hands become the devil’s workshop, and set about doing some extra good.

KEDPlasma specializes in the collection and procurement of high-quality blood plasma that is processed into plasma-based therapies. Their newest facility in Lilburn had been scheduled to open Sept. 5, but a construction delay pushed the date back and left eight phlebotomists – specialists and nurses who draw donor’s blood – with nothing to do. They asked their manager Kino Pearce about any nearby volunteer opportunities.

After one phone call from Pearce to Emory Morsberger, who heads both the Lilburn and Stone Mountain CIDs, and the eight medically trained specialists were on their way to the Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC), a charity that assembles and refurbishes medical devices for the disabled.

“Being new to this area, we’d never even heard of FODAC,” said phlebotomist Reginald Wright. “But they needed folks to help the people in Houston, and we needed something to do.”

FODAC, which is located in the Stone Mountain CID, had been contacted by disaster relief agencies in Houston, according to Chris Brand, FODAC’s CEO/President.

“Hurricane Harvey did a lot of damage to Houston, and in any natural disaster, medical needs are the most urgent,” said Brand. “We’re glad to have extra hands helping us.”

“We were absolute strangers to FODAC,” said volunteer Annette German, PRN. “But we understand the importance of being our brother’s keeper.”

Founded in 1986 by the late Ed Butchart, FODAC is a 501(c)(3), with no direct funding from Medicare/Medicaid. It provides durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs and hospital beds, at little or no cost to the disabled and their families.