The National Coalition of Black Lung & Respiratory Disease Clinics
What We Offer
Medical expertise for more than 20,000 first time users and thousands of continuing respiratory disease patients each year
Fast, affordable service for more than 100,000 medical encounters each year
More than 183,000 non-medical encounters including patient education and assistance with Black Lung claims
Lower insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid costs by helping respiratory disease patients stay out of the hospital
Better quality of life for the respiratory disease patient through the availability of patient education, pulmonary rehabilitation programs, and outreach services
Managed care by out-patient services at reduced costs compared to hospital or emergency room costs
Medical assistance for other occupational pulmonary diseases which affect miners as often as coal dust
Our History
The National Coalition of Black Lung and Respiratory Disease Clinics, Inc. was established in 1984 to accomplish the following goals:
To adopt uniform black lung education and treatment standards
To improve communications and information between clinics
To provide a unified voice for Black Lung and Respiratory Disease Clinic Programs
To sponsor opportunities for education, training, and technical assistance
To encourage coal miners and others suffering from respiratory diseases to participate in coalition activities
When Congress passed the 1977 amendment to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, they realized that specialized pulmonary medical services were needed. The Federal Black Lung Clinics Program has answered this need by funding black lung and respiratory disease clinics in coal mining areas in eleven states.
How We Are Helping Today
Each year, these clinics provide medical diagnosis, treatment and education to thousands of coal miners and other patients suffering from lung disease. patient receive education which teaches them how to cope with their disease and improve their breathing and endurance, given them a better quality of life.
The Black Lung Clinics Program helps bring medical expertise, state of the art medical equipment, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs to rural, medical under served areas. No patient is denied service because of an inability to pay.
On average, a patient can be served for more than a year at a black lung clinic for less than the cost of one day in the hospital. By practicing preventive medicine, black lung and respiratory disease clinics help keep respiratory patient out of the hospital.
“You rely on your lungs to bring fresh, oxygen-rich air to your bloodstream as well as to remove poisonous carbon dioxide waste from your blood. If your lungs suffer from scarring due to to workplace irritants, pollutants, and particles, you can permanently suffer from coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath, among other things.”
— James Witherspoon
Contact
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
BlackLungClinics@gmail.com