Programs

Emergency Housing Program
When a low income family of a combined household income of $45,000 or less, looses their home due to a fire with at least one burn survivor in the family, the Texas Burn Survivor Society (TBSS) may provide up to $1000, allocated by the judgment of the Executive Director and approved by the TBSS Board of Directors, for immediate shelter, food and clothing. A case worker/volunteer will be actively placed to work with the family and surrounding organizations to repair, rebuild, or relocate the new home.

Dr. Basil Pruitt Fund
The Basil Pruitt Fund provides emergency financial assistance to patients and their families at burn units in Texas. In times of devastating need, TBSS assistance helps victims who have no other sources of available aid to obtain food, shelter and emergency transportation.

Scar Management Fund
With the assistance of Medical Z, TBSS underwrites the cost of physician-prescribed pressure garments for burn survivors who could otherwise not afford to fill their garment prescriptions. These costly, custom-made elasticized garments are used for reduction of scarring. Scar management is, for some survivors, essential to a successful return to society.

Support Groups
To be conducted on the Burn Ward at Brooke Army Medical Center, and at University Hospital, support groups offer peer support to patients and families. Group support is critical in helping the burn injured and their loved ones to share feelings and fears, to know they are not alone.

The purpose of the Texas Burn Survivor Society (TBSS) is to provide care, comfort and essential services to the critically burned and their families, not merely during hospitalization, but post-discharge. The Society accomplishes this mission through an array of programs specifically designed to meet the needs of the seriously burned. The distinguishing feature of the TBSS is its hands-on approach to the care of the survivor.