Heart & Hands Homedraw
Donation protected
Heart & Hands Homedraw is a nonprofit phlebotomy service for homebound residents of the Quad Cities. We are a group of trained phlebotomists and medical professionals who have a desire to serve our community. We believe that all patients should have access to safe and professional blood draws in order to receive the best medical care possible. Each week in the Quad Cities more than 200 patients require in home phlebotomy services. Many people rely on this type of service to remain living independently.
My name is Carla Downing. I have worked with these patients for over ten years in a medical office that provided in home phlebotomy. I decided to start this nonprofit because I recently found out that my department would no longer be able to provide service to homebound patients after March 31st. While I was personally anxious to be out of a job, I felt more concern for our patients. As time went on, I began to hear from patients who were upset and fearful about how they would receive their phlebotomy draws. I felt the Lord wanted me to find a solution to their problem.
My original intention was to start my own homebound phlebotomy business. I even approached several coworkers to see if they would be interested in starting the business with me. While I initially got some interest in the end most decided to go in a different direction. Even with this setback I still felt like I had to do something. The idea of starting my own business was daunting. One major obstacle in my path was deciding how to bill the patients. Most homebound patients are on Medicare and they have strict rules and procedures for billing the services. This is one of the reasons it is difficult to run a homedraw business. It can take a lot of time to visit individual homes, but Medicare only pays a certain amount per draw. This can make it cost prohibitive for most businesses. Despite this I still felt like I had to do something.
Every day I received more and more calls from patients and doctors’ offices seeking a solution. One day while praying about this situation I felt the Lord calling for me to give this service for free. I felt the only way to truly serve our community was to create a non-profit. This was the solution I had been praying for. By giving free phlebotomy services those who truly needed in home blood draws could receive the needed services regardless of their ability to pay.
Heart & Hands Homedraw was formed. Even though there has been a steep learning curve on just what is needed to start a non-profit I have had an outpouring of support. At this time, we are incorporated. In addition, we have received a generous donation of supplies to run the day to day operations. Our greatest need right now is monetary donations to pay our phlebotomists and workers as well as various incidentals. We would appreciate any help you could give us so that we can start providing this vital service to the community.
https://heartandhandshomedraw.org/
My name is Carla Downing. I have worked with these patients for over ten years in a medical office that provided in home phlebotomy. I decided to start this nonprofit because I recently found out that my department would no longer be able to provide service to homebound patients after March 31st. While I was personally anxious to be out of a job, I felt more concern for our patients. As time went on, I began to hear from patients who were upset and fearful about how they would receive their phlebotomy draws. I felt the Lord wanted me to find a solution to their problem.
My original intention was to start my own homebound phlebotomy business. I even approached several coworkers to see if they would be interested in starting the business with me. While I initially got some interest in the end most decided to go in a different direction. Even with this setback I still felt like I had to do something. The idea of starting my own business was daunting. One major obstacle in my path was deciding how to bill the patients. Most homebound patients are on Medicare and they have strict rules and procedures for billing the services. This is one of the reasons it is difficult to run a homedraw business. It can take a lot of time to visit individual homes, but Medicare only pays a certain amount per draw. This can make it cost prohibitive for most businesses. Despite this I still felt like I had to do something.
Every day I received more and more calls from patients and doctors’ offices seeking a solution. One day while praying about this situation I felt the Lord calling for me to give this service for free. I felt the only way to truly serve our community was to create a non-profit. This was the solution I had been praying for. By giving free phlebotomy services those who truly needed in home blood draws could receive the needed services regardless of their ability to pay.
Heart & Hands Homedraw was formed. Even though there has been a steep learning curve on just what is needed to start a non-profit I have had an outpouring of support. At this time, we are incorporated. In addition, we have received a generous donation of supplies to run the day to day operations. Our greatest need right now is monetary donations to pay our phlebotomists and workers as well as various incidentals. We would appreciate any help you could give us so that we can start providing this vital service to the community.
https://heartandhandshomedraw.org/
Organizer
Ken Carla Downing
Organizer
Moline, IL
