Aya Healthcare Contributes to The Coalition of Hope Foundation to Help Support the Largest Disaster Relief Operations and Resource Center for Hurricane Irma Survivors

Big Pine Key, Fla., Sept. 27, 2017 – The Coalition of Hope Foundation, Inc. (COH) received a $25,000 donation from Aya Healthcare to help with Hurricane Irma relief efforts in the Florida Keys. The donation is the initial contribution from the San Diego-based company transforming healthcare staffing nationally, and kicks off a larger matching campaign with Aya’s employees, partners and clients with the goal of donating a total of $100,000.

“We have an office in South Florida and are part of the community,” said Aya Healthcare CEO, Alan Braynin. “We are here to support our employees, their friends, families and neighbors adversely affected by the hurricane.”

Hurricane Irma hit Florida as a Category 4 storm on the morning of September 10, ripping off roofs, flooding coastal cities, knocking out power to more than 6.8 million people and causing damages in excess of $100 billion. The Florida Keys were hit the hardest with massive storm surges, flooding and damages to 90 percent of the homes and businesses. Hurricane Irma and its aftermath are responsible for the deaths of at least 38 people in the Caribbean and another 31 in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

“The devastation is real,” said President and Founder of COH, David Perez. “Just because it doesn’t flash in the headlines anymore, doesn’t mean the people of South Florida don’t need our help. Schools are destroyed. Homes are destroyed. Lives have been upended. And it is our duty as fellow Americans, as fellow humans, to lend a helping hand.”

On September 15, COH was tasked by the Monroe County EOC (Emergency Operations Center) to provide humanitarian assistance services to the affected population. In the Florida Keys, officials estimated that 25 percent of the homes were destroyed and 90 percent damaged. Thanks to the financial support of Aya Healthcare, COH, with their mission partners, which include Navillus Construction, 305 Films, Humanity Road, Third Wave Volunteers, CitiMED and Sleeping Alligators Studios, have all been onsite providing hot meals, fresh water distribution, emergency supplies, a fully functional resources center, personal communications, technology resources, FEMA assistance and a full mobile and onsite medical team managed by CitiMED. COH is now actively coordinating with the EOC in the next phase to pave the way for National VOAD volunteers to assist Keys homeowners with debris removal and the demolition of mold and drywall while the rebuilding process continues. Financial support for COH’s mission assignment has been provided by Aya Healthcare and CitiMED.

Monroe County Mayor, George Neugent, stated, “I’ve observed the actions of the Coalition of Hope Foundation along with their partners and Aya Healthcare, from the raising of the tents on day one to the stocking of goods to the feeding of thousands … its heart warming! These guys are the real deal.”

View a short documentary highlighting the relief mission in the Florida Keys:

Help Aya Healthcare get to our $100,000 donation goal!
Here are the steps to submit your donation for our matching program:

• Visit www.coalitionofhope.org/donate
• Click “Donate” in upper right hand corner of the screen
• Select or enter your donation amount (minimum $3)
• Enter your contact information
• In the section titled, “in honor of” you can enter “Aya Healthcare or specific family or friends”
• Enter your billing and payment information and click “Donate”
• You will receive an email confirmation. Please forward it to ckhadr@ayahealthcare.com and Aya Healthcare will match your donation.

You must forward your donation confirmation to ckhadr@ayahealthcare.com in order for Aya to match your donation.

About Aya Healthcare

Aya Healthcare creates exceptional experiences – for their clinicians, their corporate employees and the healthcare facilities they serve. For healthcare facilities, Aya delivers a robust suite of software and services to manage the procurement of contingent labor. Aya’s platform provides access to one of the largest sources of contract clinicians in the country which improves efficiency, increases quality and reduces costs for healthcare systems. For travel nurses, Aya delivers the best experience in the industry and allows access to the widest base of travel assignments in the United States.

About The Coalition of Hope Foundation (Federal Tax ID 20-3451673) 

The Coalition of Hope Foundation is a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit public charity and has actively assisted in many of the most catastrophic disasters of the last 15 years, from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy to the disasters in Haiti and Ecuador. COH, since its inception, has provided aid and comfort to tens of thousands of victims. In addition to its efforts during Hurricanes Harvey and Irma relief efforts, COH is actively working to secure the conveyance of the USS Nassau from the US Government in order to refit the vessel and create the first of its kind privately funded Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) early response platform. Recently featured in an Op Ed in the Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article173204721.html. For more information, visit www.coalitionofhope.org.

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Media Contacts:

• The Coalition of Hope Foundation: David Perez, President, david.perez@cohglobal.org, +1 619-356-0018
• Aya Healthcare: Erin Stafford, Director of Marketing, estafford@ayahealthcare.com, +1 858-216-2012

Meal/donations drop-off location:

• 30250 Overseas Hwy, Big Pine Key, Florida, USA 33043
• Hours of operation: Monday to Sunday 9:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.