WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today announced that he has successfully secured $6,000,000.00 in federal funding for the Team Gleason Foundation to better serve Americans living with ALS. The funding enables the Team Gleason Foundation to provide over 4,000 more individuals living with ALS with specialized equipment, technology, and other services, doubling the number of ALS patients they serve annually.
“Steve Gleason is a fighter—not just for himself, but for others,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Despite facing extreme adversity, he never fails to be a beacon of light. This funding is an example of his tireless work.”
“When I was diagnosed with the terminal disease, ALS, 13 years ago, there were no treatments for ALS, and that is still largely true today,” said Steve Gleason, founder of Team Gleason. “What I found more encouraging was how equipment and technology could help a person survive and thrive while living with the disease. With this knowledge, my wife, Michel, and I founded Team Gleason with the goal of providing critical equipment and technology to those living with ALS, and now we are the leading non-profit provider. This funding is crucial to our ability to meet the needs of the ALS community and my team and I are grateful.”
Living with ALS is extremely costly as much of the innovative technology and equipment that brings greater independence and a higher quality of life to those living with ALS is not covered by insurance. This, coupled with the fact that those with ALS ultimately must leave the work force and increasingly rely on caregivers, forces families to make anguishing decisions. In many cases, the primary caregiver is a spouse, partner, or family member who must choose to leave the workforce to provide constant care. This funding will allow Team Gleason to continue to provide a host of essential care services to an increasing number of those diagnosed with ALS. These services include voice and message banking, complex shower and bath chairs, portable power wheelchairs, and much more.
Background
The Team Gleason Foundation is one of only a few organizations focused on providing care services to help those with ALS live more independently and with an enhanced quality of life. A core element of Team Gleason’s mission is providing advanced technology for people with ALS, empowering them to continue living purposefully and productively. Team Gleason has partnered with leaders in technology and innovation to provide advanced devices and help develop new and more empowering ways to live with ALS.
Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with ALS. Over its first 12 years, Team Gleason has provided over $40 million in care services, technology, equipment, and other services to over 30,000 people living with ALS across the country.
Cassidy led the effort to honor Gleason with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow, in 2018. After Congressional approval, Gleason was presented with the medal in 2020 at the U.S. Capitol. Cassidy joined the NFL Network in 2019 to discuss the award.