Susanne Odelskog RN, BSN & Suzan Lund, LPN

727-204-5952

727-480-0237

Dear Sir/Sirs

Help a child in need and help us save 3.5 million dollars to Tampa Bay’s Schools.

Why we care and why we think you will care.

Head lice infestations are extremely common among children in schools, childcare facilities, camps, and playgrounds. They are the second most common communicable health problem in children, after the common cold.¹

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports:

An estimated 6 million to 12 million infestations occur each year in the United States among children 3 to 11 years of age.²  American Academy of Pediatrics report the same numbers.³

Head lice have developed resistance to OTC products as well as the prescribed medications, figures as high as 87% were quoted for the UK. ^4,5

We estimate the school funding in Tampa Bay is ~$50/day/child.⁶

Our pending research shows that every child infested with head lice will be kept out of school for an average of 4 days, due to the schools “no nit policy”, which equals $200/child per infestation. We have met children that have been kept out of schools for months!

Each parent/guardian will have 4 days of lost income from staying home with their child.

Average household income in Tampa Bay is 62,227/year. ⁷ The average lost income for parents would be $992.00 per infestation, significant money lost when a lot of families are stressed meeting expenses during these economic times.

Research show as many as 25% of all school children will be infested with head lice yearly. ⁸ Tampa Bay have ~70.000 school children, 25% equals 17.500 school children that are kept out of school for an average of four days yearly, due to head lice infestations.

The school children’s head lice problem cost Tampa Bay’s schools an estimated $3.5 million in lost funding yearly because of school absences.

We are Tampa Bay’s first opened head lice clinic and we offer a complete organic removal of head lice, nymphs and nits (eggs) without any harm to the client or the environment.

We use a Scandinavian patented vacuum-combing method to remove all live lice and nymphs. Once the live head lice has been caught the hair is treated with an organic head lice repellent oil, and a comb developed to collect and kill head lice eggs to make sure that no trace of an infestation is left in the scalp or in the hair.

Our treatment method is highly effective and guaranteed for 14- days.

We have been in business since January 2009 and treated more than 350 clients in the Tampa Bay area. Since we started our business we have had a 98% success rate with our initial treatment and 100% success rate after our second treatment.

Our clients are referred from the school nurses in Tampa Bay, or by clients we have previously treated. We have a pending research and use a state-of-the-art database that captures depersonalized treatment data for each client being treated with our method.

By continuously education and research we are convinced we offer the best detection and complete head lice removal program developed in the USA.

MediComb for Kids founded by Headlice911.org November 2009

We receive a lot of calls from school nurses about children from low-income families in need for an effective treatment, many school children that have an ongoing head lice infestation for a very long time. We decided to set off money from our treatments to a charity for treatments free of charge to children in need and MediComb for Kids was founded in November 2009.

We are proud to be able to give back to the community and help children and families that would normally not be able to get professional treatment for their head lice infestation.

MediComb for Kids clients are referred to us by their school nurse and to qualify the child has to participate in the free school lunch program.

The last few months MediComb for Kids have exceeded all our expectations, now we humbly have to ask for your help in order to continue to help Tampa Bay’s school children. The numbers of children desperately needing our help are increasing every month.

We treat homeless children, children being caregivers to their caretakers, children being kept from school for months and children that literally walk to our clinic due to lack of a car or money for public transportations. We educate their parents about the facts of head lice and how to avoid a re-infestation.

MediComb for Kids need your help now, with your help we can ensure every child in Tampa Bay get a chance to stay head lice free and not kept out of school because of head lice.

With your help or donation our goal is to eliminate/decrease head lice from our schools in Tampa Bay by:

1. Help school children by reducing length of absenteeism due to head lice from four days to one or even zero.

2. Help parents/guardians by eliminating the need for them to stay home from work to care for and treat a child diagnosed with head lice.

3. Help school nurses by working closely with them to effectively and efficiently screen and treat students.

4. Help school districts by reducing the amount of lost revenue due to head lice-related school absences.

We would appreciate any donation or advice for help in order for us to be able to continue with our charity MediComb for Kids.

Thank you for you attention in this matter.

All the best,

Susanne Odelskog, RN, BSN

Suzan Lund, LPN

Owner of HeadLice911 & Founders of MediComb for Kids

References:

1. Frey, Rebecca J. PhD, Alic, Margaret, PhD. Encyclopedia of children’s health. 2004.

Web site: http://www.healthofchildren.com/L/Lice-Infestation.html

2. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008.

Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/factsheet.html

3. Washer, Stewart, MD. Hatchtech Positive DeOvo™ Head Lice Phase II Clinical Trial Results. 2010.

Web site: http://www.biotechnology europe.com/news/news%20by%20company/Hatchtech/25.03.2010%20Hatchtech%20Positive%20DeOvo%20Head%20Lice%20Phase%20II%20Clinical%20Trial%20Results.html

4. Bell, Edward A. PharmD, BCPS. What’s new for head lice treatments? Infectious Diseases in Children. 2009.

Web site: http://www.pediatricsupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=44458

5. Downs AM, Stafford KA, Hunt LP, Ravenscroft JC, Coles GC.

Department of Dermatology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8HW, UK.

Widespread insecticide resistance in head lice to the over-the-counter pediculocides in England, and the emergence of carbaryl resistance. 2002.

Web site: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11841371

6. Gordano, Greg. Update from Tallahasse: Legislative Session 2010 Week Five - the State Budget. Tampa Bay Informer. 2010.

Web site: http://tampabayinformer.com/Government/Politics/2010/04/01/Update-from-Tallahasse-Legislative-Session-2010-Week-Five.html

7. The Community of Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay’s Demographics. Source: Claritas 2008; Aggregation by Tampa Bay region

Web site: http://www.tampabay.org/subpage.asp?navid=1&id=68

8. Meinking, Terri l. Research Assistant Professor

Field Epidemiology Survey Team (FEST)

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery

University of Miami School of Medicine. A one hour CE Course for nurses,

from Mosby's Department of Continuing Education and Training. Head Lice Infestations: Biology, Diagnosis, and Management. 1999.

Web site: http://www.quantumhealth.com/news/downloads/HeadLiceCE.pdf