ARIZONA BURN FOUNDATION Improving quality of life for burn survivors, and promoting burn prevention Ashley Ford | Assistant Publisher THE STORY What started as a shared idea between two surgeons and an attorney has grown into a 52-year-old foundation that is changing the lives of burn survivors across Arizona. In 1967, Dr. MacDonald Wood, Dr. William Price and George F. Randolph saw a need in Phoenix for people who had survived a burn and were discharged from the hospital to face a future of healing and, often, uncertainty of what was to come next. Arizona Burn Foundation was launched in Maricopa County to assist with the aftercare of burn survivors and their families and to promote education and advocacy. The foundation has since grown into a statewide organization with some of its programming even reaching a national level. “We work with families as they are entering the burn center and help them navigate that process as a partner in their healing journey,” said Arizona Burn Foundation CEO Rex Albright. “Medicines 38 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | NOVEMBER 2019 CHARITY SPOTLIGHT {giving back}

NOVEMBER 2019 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 39 including art, music, equine and PTSD. Camps and retreat programs are also available for childhood burn survivors, teens and young adults, as well as seniors and adult burn survivors. Social gatherings throughout the year allow burn survivors and their families to connect with others and share their healing processes. Through these events, survivors can begin to feel like they’re not alone and build confidence by not being the only person they know with a burn scar. “One great tool we offer is a school re-entry program for children who are going back into school with a burn injury,” said Arizona Burn Foundation chief operations officer Mik Milem. “Often, Hollywood displays scars and burns on people who are considered a villain and someone who should be feared. The school re-entry program helps the student’s classmates understand what they have been through, what they will continue to go through during their healing, and allows the child to tell their story to their peers.” only go so far. We work to help with the emotional and spiritual healing for a burn survivor and their entire family.” THE CAUSE The Arizona Burn Foundation carries out its two- part mission in a multitude of ways. The first half — to support the quality of life of burn survivors and their families — is an ever-growing program involving burn aftercare treatment and healing research. When a patient is admitted into either the Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix or the burn unit at University Medical Center in Tucson, social workers on staff offer emotional support, lodging and meal vouchers. Financial assistance is also available because many times either a family’s breadwinner or a child is burned and the parents need to put their jobs on hold to be with their son or daughter. After the patient is discharged from the burn unit, Arizona Burn Foundation is there to help families with counseling and a variety of therapies Arizona Burn Foundation provides education as well as social gatherings where burn survivors and their families can meet people who have experienced similar trauma and find peer support, comfort and advice.