The Reggie White Sleep Disorders Research and Education Foundation is providing free, refurbished continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines to people who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea but do not have the means to purchase the prescribed treatment equipment.
“Thanks to the growth in awareness of our organization, the Foundation has received numerous donations of pre-owned, but entirely workable CPAP equipment from individuals and companies across the country,” explained Steve Gardner, executive director of the Foundation. “We are able to completely sanitize and refurbish this equipment and make it available to those in need.”
The nonprofit foundation was co-founded shortly after the former Packers Hall of Famer died prematurely at age 43 by his wife, Sara, and the Sleep Wellness Institute in West Allis. The Foundation’s goals are to spread word about the dangers of sleep apnea to people of all socio-economic groups and help provide treatment to those who otherwise would be unable to access the healthcare services needed to treat obstructive sleep apnea, the disease that contributed to White’s death.
Gardner noted that the success of Foundation events such as the annual Reggie White golf outing and a celebrity roast last spring enables the group to provide overnight sleep studies in the Milwaukee area to diagnose sleep apnea in people who meet financial assistance criteria.
