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NASCAR® TAKES ON COUNTRY MUSIC IN COMPETITION
Ridgefield, CT, October 26, 2011 – Landmark public health campaign DRIVE4COPD today kicked
off a high-profile social media competition led by DRIVE4COPD Celebrity Ambassadors* Danica
Patrick and Patty Loveless to see who can get the most people screened for risk of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during the two weeks leading up to the Great American
Screen Off on November 4, 2011.
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Go Orange Resolution Unveiled on Capitol Hill!
Yesterday on Capitol Hill, the U.S. COPD Coalition (USCC) announced their resolution to “Go Orange” for COPD Awareness. It was unveiled by John W. Walsh, Vice Chairman of the USCC and President and Co-Founder of the COPD Foundation. The “Go Orange” resolution is the USCC’s answer to the call by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase public awareness of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The CDC has established that COPD, which kills one person every four minutes in the U.S., is an important health issue and attention needs to be brought to the national level.
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Congressional Health Briefing: The State of COPD in America
Patrick will be joined by Dr. James Kiley of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a representative from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a COPD expert, Dr. James Crapo and Coalition Vice-Chair, John Walsh. COPD Congressional Caucus Co-Chair, Senator Mike Crapo, will join us for introductory remarks. We hope that many of the Coalition members or your representatives will be able to join these great speakers at the Briefing. Make sure your organization is represented even if you are not able to join us in person by mailing in your materials to be displayed. Coalition members are encouraged to mail a supply of your desired brochures for the anticipated 100-150 attendees to: Aimee Bulthuis, 20 F St. Suite 200A, Washington DC 20001. Please ensure your materials arrive prior to October 9th in order to ensure they can be displayed at the Briefing. The official save the date can be viewed here. A formal invite will follow later in the week. We encourage you to spread the word to all those you feel should attend this important event. A media statement will be distributed the first week in October and you are also encouraged to customize and repost this statement from your organization. If you have any questions about the Briefing please contact Jamie Lamson at (202) 445-4009.
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DRIVE4COPD 24M Launch
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DRIVE4COPD Screening Toolkit
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New Hampshire BRFSS Data
The NH BRFSS data is a good example of the data that will result from a nationwide BRFSS COPD question in 2011. This is the first time a survey will provide COPD specific prevalence data nationwide. Additionally, 19 states are also asking the optional expanded COPD module of questions. This data is expected to be released in mid-2012 and will provide local, state, and national COPD data to help focus the community’s efforts to improve awareness, education, and treatment. Learn more about the BRFSS at the Second National COPD Conference. This two day conference will devote an entire workshop to how to read, analyze, and utilize BRFSS data locally. To learn more about this interactive conference and register click here.
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Sen. Durbin Signs On As Co-Chair for the COPD Caucus
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has agreed to serve as Co-Chair of the Congressional COPD Caucus. Durbin is the Senate Majority Whip, the second highest position in the Senate, and serves on the Committee on Appropriations, Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Rules and Administration. The U.S. COPD Coalition is looking forward to working with Senator Durbin and is excited for the experience and dedication he will undoubtedly exhibit as Co-Chair. “Approximately 24 million Americans—including 557,120 people in Illinois—are living with COPD," says Senator Dick Durbin. "While there is no cure, the causes are largely preventable. Prevention starts with protecting the air we breathe and I have long been committed to that effort during my time in Congress. I look forward to pursuing that effort further as I join Senator Crapo as a Co-Chair of the Senate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Caucus.”
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CDC Releases Public Health Framework for COPD
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its Public Health Strategic Framework for COPD Prevention recognizing COPD as a serious public health problem. This report serves as a guide for addressing COPD on a national scale. “This represents a giant step forward for the COPD community,” Dr. David Mannino, member of the U.S.COPD Coalition Executive Committee and Professor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky, says. “Approaching COPD as a public health problem involves a collaborative effort from patients, their caretakers, physicians, payers, and governmental agencies. These are the groups that will be convening in Washington in December at the Second National COPD Conference to discuss this report and examine other opportunities to improve the lives of our COPD patients.”
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Semi-Annual Business Meeting at the ATS Intl Conference
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Join us at the Second National COPD Conference
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USCC Member EFFORTS Reports on LTOT Conference
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U.S. COPD Coalition and COPD Alliance Join DRIVE4COPD
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COPD Awareness Day at the Capitol in Tallahassee, FL
The Florida COPD Awareness Day at the Capitol – February 9th, 400 South Monroe Street, Florida State Capitol Building Courtyard – hosted by the Florida COPD Coalition in conjunction with the COPD Foundation, will allow participants to ride the COPD Shuttle: Journey to the Center of the Lung, get a free spirometry test and learn more about COPD and its impact on health care costs in Florida.
The COPD Shuttle: Journey to the Center of the Lung is a 20-seat motion simulator ride that takes its audience on a journey through the lungs to witness the damages of smoking.
Spirometry testing will be offered in the Capitol Rotunda for elected officials, staff, agency employees and any member of the public. The goal is to identify at-risk individuals and provide additional follow up information and referral. The tests will demonstrate the importance and ease of checking lung function.
“We’re pleased to co-host this event to generate awareness of COPD in the State of Florida as Florida has one of the highest per capita prevalence of COPD in the nation,” John W. Walsh, President and Co-Founder of the COPD Foundation, says. “With more than half of individuals with COPD, symptomatic but undiagnosed, the importance of screening and spirometry testing at this event is paramount.”
“With COPD moving to the third leading cause of death 12 years earlier than projected, it is critical that the Legislature take a leadership role and create awareness to all the citizens in Florida in making certain that all Floridians over 40 be screened for COPD and referred for testing if they are deemed to be at risk,” he says. “It is time to reduce the burden of this debilitating, chronic disease.”
Attendees from throughout Florida will have the opportunity to meet with their elected officials and discuss COPD data collection needs and COPD proposed legislation. Date: February 9th Time: 9AM to 4PM, Free Spirometry Testing 10AM to 2PM at the Capitol Rotunda Location: Florida State Capitol Building Courtyard, 400 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL, 32399
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Year of the Lung Resolution at the 111th Congress
Throughout 2010, the U.S. COPD Coalition participated in the Year of the Lung Campaign designed to raise awareness about lung disease globally. As part of the campaign, we asked you to tell your elected officials to pass a resolution officially recognizing the goals of the Year of the Lung. COPD advocates, along with our health care provider partners, succeeded and before the 111th Congress ended in December, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1122. This is the second time in recent history that Congress has passed a resolution dealing with lung disease. House Resolution 1122, the Year of the Lung Resolution, was introduced by Congressional COPD Caucus House Co-Chair John Lewis, D-GA. The resolution supported the goals and ideals of the Year of the Lung Campaign. You can check out the full language of the resolution here. The Year of the Lung initiative sought to raise awareness about lung health among the public, initiate action in communities worldwide, and advocate for resources to combat lung disease, including resources for research and research training programs worldwide. While H.R. 1122 mentions COPD several times, it comes as a part of a long list of lung health issues from conditions such as childhood asthma and lung cancer. The Year of the Lung Resolution was built on the COPD Awareness Month resolution (H.R. 919), which was passed in 2009. H.R. 919—introduced by Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Cliff Stearns, R-FL—was tailored specifically to COPD by supporting the goals and ideals of COPD Awareness Month. The Resolution draws attention to COPD on two fronts: the general public and our elected officials. Raising awareness for COPD among the general public is crucial because half of the estimated 24 million individuals with COPD in the United States remain undiagnosed. Equally vital to the COPD community is raising awareness among our elected officials. This past month, COPD was raised from the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. to the third—a change that came an unsettling 12 years ahead of schedule. Climbing the mortality charts is no victory for the COPD community; in order to set this trend in reverse, we need the help of those who introduce and implement legislation to enact a large-scale change in the form of a comprehensive COPD bill. The subject of raising awareness among elected officials is thrown into new light with the inauguration of the 112th Congress. There are many new lawmakers that need to be educated about COPD and plenty of work to be done over the next two years to ensure COPD is a priority and that comprehensive COPD legislation is passed. There is a roll for everyone in the COPD community to play, no matter what skills and abilities you have. You can still make a difference!
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First-Ever Plan To Fight COPD In California Released
The California COPD Coalition, led by the American Lung Association in California, today released its Strategic Plan to Address COPD in California, a comprehensive blueprint for preventing further cases of COPD, improving the quality of life for those with COPD, and enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of COPD.
"The American Lung Association is proud to have led this coalition to deliver this landmark report during COPD Awareness month, 2010," said Jane Warner, President & CEO of the American Lung Association in California. "COPD is a major killer, claiming more than 120,000 lives each year. This plan directly addresses how everyone from insurers to employers to patients can work together to better address these diseases."
COPD refers to two lung diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema that are characterized by obstruction to airflow that interferes with normal breathing. Both of these conditions frequently co-exist, hence physicians prefer the term COPD. It does not include other obstructive diseases such as asthma. Smoking is the primary risk factor for COPD. Approximately 85 to 90 percent of COPD deaths are caused by smoking. Other risk factors of COPD include exposure to air pollution, second-hand smoke and occupational dusts and chemicals, heredity, a history of childhood respiratory infections and socioeconomic status.(2)
"More needs to be done to help people with COPD live healthier lives and to prevent new cases of this serious lung disease," said Richard Casaburi, Ph.D., M.D., Professor of Medicine at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute. "The Strategic Plan provides important steps for physicians, health care providers and policy makers to take in the fight against COPD."
The California COPD Coalition is a group of stakeholders that formed beginning with a Summit on COPD and through the process of creating the COPD Strategic Plan. This document marks the beginning of focused and strategic work to decrease the impact of COPD on Californians. Membership in the California COPD Coalition is open to all interested organizations and individuals. Those interested in joining should call their local American Lung Association office at 800-LUNG USA.
References
(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Final Vital Statistics Report. Deaths: Final Data for 2006. Vol. 57, No. 14, April 17, 2009.
(2) Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Executive Summary: Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Updated 2007. Accessed on June 10, 2009
Source: American Lung Association of California
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COPD Prevalence Questions Added to BRFSS
Determining the prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in every State is becoming a reality, thanks to the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey released November 9th by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The BRFSS will help us to develop a comprehensive picture of COPD statewide, countywide, and ultimately on a national basis,” says Miriam O’Day, senior director of Public Policy at the COPD Foundation. “The data we’ll now collect through the BRFSS will be layered on top of other data collected, enhancing our understanding of COPD and its co-morbidities and helping us to design targeted responses.”
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the world’s largest, on-going telephone health survey system, tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States yearly since 1984. Currently, data are collected monthly in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. Approximately 400,000 individuals will be surveyed through this system.
"Dollars follow data," says O’Day, emphasizing the importance of having comprehensive data understanding the extent of the burden of COPD in this nation in order to open the doors to more research and awareness. “The inclusion of a set of questions regarding COPD is a major step forward in identifying and addressing the major problems faced by every State.”
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US COPD Coalition Business Meeting at AARC
Monday, December 6th from 2:00-6:00pm
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Members of Congress Ask for Info on Competitive Bidding
Members from both houses of Congress are calling on CMS Administrator Donald Berwick to release the list of providers whose bids were used to calculate payment amounts in Round 1 of Medicare’s Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding process. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), as well as Representatives Jason Altmire (D-PA) and Ralph Hall (R-TX) have sent letters urging Mr. Berkwick to release the list of names so the bidding process is transparent and quality can be assured.
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COPD Learn More Breathe Better ® campaign and USCC Webinar
Save-The-Date COPD Learn More Breathe Better ® campaign and U.S. COPD Coalition Webinar: Fall Outreach Monday, August 9, 2010, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT See full webinar dial-in/log-in information below
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FDA Warns of Stolen Advair Diskus Use
The FDA issued an important warning for Advair users on Friday, alerting them to the potential for stolen inhalers to appear in some pharmacies. Since the safety of the stolen inhalers cant be guaranteed it is important to read the full release and make sure the lot numbers of your inhalers do not match the numbers that FDA has posted. There are detailed instructions on what to do if you discover your lot numbers do match the FDA list.
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Alpha-1 Foundation Challenges Cochrane Analysis
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Member Organization Update Survey Link-Share your news!
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Members Hit Capitol Hill
On June 3, 2010 members of the US COPD Coalition met with the staff of the Congressional COPD Caucus House of Representatives Co-Chairs to discuss the possible introduction of comprehensive COPD legislation. Coalition members discussed the need to enhance the federal response to COPD which is the fourth leading cause of death. "It was terrific to have a large representation of Coalition members at this meeting," stated Miriam O'Day, Chair of the Coalitions Policy Committee,
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