Assistance for Active Duty Military Patients & Families

Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, the James A. Haley Veteran's Hospital has had a marked increase in the number of wounded and injured active duty members referred for treatment. Their Spinal Cord Injury and Comprehensive Rehabilitation Units have treated some of the most severely injured service members who have been in combat in these operations.

As you can imagine, the family members of the wounded want to be with their loved ones during this critical time of treatment. The average stay for the injured is 45 days. Many of the families travel from all over the country and must provide for themselves while staying here in the Tampa Bay area.

Operation Helping Hand of Tampa (Op HH) , a project of the Tampa Chapter of Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), has been organized to help the families of the wounded and injured during their stay in Tampa Bay. Assistance from the public and business community is definitely needed to help these families. Following is a short list of items that are needed:

• Rental or leased cars
• Bus or taxi fare coupons
• Cell phones or phone cards
• Gasoline coupons
• Amusement park, movie, dinner tickets
• Restaurant or food market gift certificates
• Any comfort or recreation items that will make their stay here in Tampa more enjoyable, or checks for the purchase of needed items

Your support in this very worthwhile operation will definitely help the wounded or injured service members and their families. Help us to show them that the Tampa Bay Community appreciates the sacrifices that they have made for their country.