News
March 2, 2010
On February 9th, 2010 the U.S. COPD Coalition held a webinar in conjunction with the COPD: Learn More Breathe Better Campaign focusing on the Year of the Lung.
Coalition Vice-Chair John Walsh introduced the Coalition and its activities and Dr. Dean Schraufnagel, President-elect of the American Thoracic Society, briefed the audience on the origins of the Year of the Lung campaign.
Dr. Schraufnagel also outlined some of the planned activities in the U.S. and offered audience members strategies for how they can participate in the campaign. Dr. Schraufnagel provided his slides for all those who couldn’t attend (available in the link below).
If you have questions on how you can get involved, please call Jamie Lamson, Program Director of the U.S. COPD Coalition, at 1-877-349-2673.
Download Webinar Here (PDF)
February 23, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Ifdy Perez, COPD Foundation
Email:
Tel: 1-866-731-2673, ext. 398
Washington, D.C. (February, 2010)—The Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of their “10 Steps Program”, which is a comprehensive online learning activity developed in collaboration with MedscapeCME and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. (http://cme.medscape.com/viewprogram/30658).
The program is a series of videos outlining 10 steps designed to guide physicians and healthcare providers on how to better manage COPD. World renowned experts in COPD designed the program to improve better diagnosis, treatment and management of COPD. We are also pleased to announce that the Spanish translation of the “10 Steps Program” is planned to launch later this month.
Dr. Byron Thomashow, Chair of the COPD Foundation Board of Directors, says that the 10 steps program aims at improving COPD care.
“We were lucky enough to bring several world famous pulmonologists to join me on that program, and we hope it has a significant impact,” he says. “The COPD Foundation believes simply that it will be the first steps in a rewarding collaboration, reaching healthcare providers who provide care to people with lung disease.”
This program will be the first of many that the Foundation plans to develop collaboratively with MedscapeCME.
In May 2009, in educational collaboration with WebMD, the Foundation launched the WebMD Lung Disease Health Check for consumers titled “Concerned About Breathing Problems or Lung Disease?” The WebMD Lung Disease Health Check is a personalized educational platform (http://www.webmd.com/lung-disease-health-check) that allows individuals to better understand symptoms and personal risks, and delivers an action plan for them or someone they are caring for.
“Those of us already diagnosed with lung conditions like COPD understand the importance of early and complete diagnosis and the value of ‘learn more breathe better’,” John W. Walsh, President of the COPD Foundation says.
Walsh says the WebMD Lung Disease Health Check is a resource to “millions of people searching for answers” to their shortness of breath.
Over the last 8 months over a hundred thousand people have visited the Lung Health Check site and over seventy-five thousand have completed the health survey and generated reports to share with their healthcare providers.
“One of the most important goals for the COPD Foundation is to increase awareness in education regarding lung disease in general,” Thomashow says. “Through this collaboration the Foundation can achieve its goal of educating millions of consumers and hundreds of thousands of physicians about serious healthcare issues.”
About the COPD Foundation
The COPD Foundation is dedicated to developing and supporting programs which improve the quality of life through research, education, early diagnosis, and enhanced therapy for persons whose lives are impacted by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The COPD Foundation has several programs dedicated to informing, empowering, educating, and engaging individuals affected by COPD, including both diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals, their families and friends, and their medical professionals. For more information, please visit: http://www.copdfoundation.org.
About COPD
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only chronic disease growing in mortality. It affects approximately 24 million Americans but only 12 million are diagnosed. COPD includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and adult onset (refractory) asthma. Symptoms include breathlessness, wheezing, and chronic coughing. For more information about COPD, visit http://www.copdfoundation.org or call 1-866-316-COPD (2673).
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Complete Press Release (PDF)
February 18, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Ifdy Perez, COPD Foundation
Email:
Tel: 1-866-731-2673, ext. 398
PATTY LOVELESS WINS THE DRIVE4COPD “RACE FOR THE MISSING MILLIONS” BY SCREENING NEARLY 6,000 PEOPLE DURING CELEBRITY KICKOFF
Ridgefield, CT, February 18, 2010 – Hollywood, sports and music stars brought the public along for the ride as they raced 6,000 miles in four days to find the millions of people who may be at risk for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which kills one person every four minutes. Through Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube, tens of thousands of people followed the celebrities as they traveled to 14 cities to screen thousands of people for this relatively unknown top cause of death.
The result: more than 27,000 people completed the validated five-question screener available at DRIVE4COPD.COM to see if they were at risk for COPD. The screener helps people talk to their doctor about their breathing problems, which is important because most people are not diagnosed with COPD until they have already lost half of their lung function. The goal is to drive 1 million people to get screened in the first year of the campaign.
“We were thrilled with this level of engagement since COPD has been largely ignored even though it is the nation’s fourth leading cause of death,” said Chris Barrett, Senior Vice President at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the founding sponsor of the campaign. “And this is just the beginning, as the campaign will continue to build with many more activities and partnerships planned this year.”
For Grammy Award-winning country music star Patty Loveless, Tweets from her fans and the buzz about her inspiring new single Drive bolstered the number of screeners she collected to win the first leg of the DRIVE4COPD “Race for the Missing Millions.” Loveless beat out her fellow DRIVE4COPD celebrity ambassadors – Emmy-nominated actor Jim Belushi, former Pro Football great Michael Strahan, and Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner – who participated in the race in memory of relatives with COPD.
“I met hundreds of people along my route and it seems like nearly everyone knows someone with COPD,” said Loveless, who lent her voice to the cause and traveled from Daytona, FL to Chicago. “It meant a lot to me to hear their stories and share my memories of my sister who struggled for years with emphysema, a form of COPD.”
Go Daddy and NASCAR Nationwide Series™ driver Danica Patrick, who was the Grand Marshall of the “Race for the Missing Millions,” had a strong showing with more than 9,000 screeners. Now, following the celebrity four-day race, the campaign continues with local COPD screening events at NASCAR races, major sporting events and country music concerts throughout the year. The DRIVE4COPD celebrity ambassadors will also be spreading their message through public service announcements and briefings on Capitol Hill.
It is estimated that half of the 24 million people in the United States who may have COPD remain undiagnosed. The serious, progressive disease – which includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both – robs people of their ability to breathe and kills more Americans each year than breast cancer and diabetes combined.
“People often ignore symptoms, such as shortness of breath, until they have trouble doing everyday activities,” said Brian Carlin, MD, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Drexel University School of Medicine. “This campaign helps people understand if they are at risk so they can get on the road to breathing better sooner.”
The DRIVE4COPD campaign encourages the public to learn about COPD, recognize its early symptoms, complete a five-question screener at DRIVE4COPD.COM to find out if they may be at risk, and then talk to their doctor about their results. In addition to the validated risk screener, the DRIVE4COPD Web site provides information on the disease and on the importance of taking active steps to manage it with a doctor. It also includes many social media tools to get the word out.
DRIVE4COPD Screener
Given the underdiagnosis of COPD, there was a need for a reliable, self-scored questionnaire to identify individuals at risk for COPD. The development of this questionnaire began with a list of items identified for inclusion by a clinician working group of 10 pulmonologists and primary care physicians. A national survey of nearly 700 patients at 12 practitioner sites found five items that positively predicted airflow obstruction: breathlessness, productive cough, activity limitation, smoking history and age. These five items became the COPD Population Screener™ found at DRIVE4COPD.COM. The study validating this screener was published in April 2008 (Martinez, F. J., Raczek, A. E., Seifer, F. D., Conoscenti, C. S., Curtice, T. G. & D’Eletto, T., et al. Development and Initial Validation of a Self-Scored COPD Population Screener Questionnaire (COPD-PS). COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 5:2, 85-95).
About COPD
Both types of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – chronic bronchitis and emphysema – make it harder to breathe because less air is able to flow in and out of the lungs.
As many as 24 million Americans have COPD – even those who haven’t smoked in years – and half of them are not diagnosed. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. It kills one person every 4 minutes and more people each year than breast cancer and diabetes combined.
Common symptoms of COPD include coughing, with or without mucus, or shortness of breath. These symptoms are often confused with normal signs of aging. As COPD progresses, symptoms tend to get worse and more damage occurs in the lungs. Breathing gradually becomes more difficult until people with COPD feel like they are inhaling and exhaling through a small straw.
Because of its gradual onset, many patients are not diagnosed until they are hospitalized or require emergency care to treat the disease. By that time, their lungs may have already been critically damaged and they avoid activities that they used to enjoy because they become short of breath more easily. As such, COPD changes not only the life of the diagnosed person, but also of surrounding family and friends.
COPD can be managed to help people live and breathe easier. Early diagnosis of COPD is critical, as lung damage is not reversible but is treatable. Proper management of COPD is important to help patients breathe better, prevent complications and exacerbations, and improve quality of life. Lifestyle changes like staying active and quitting smoking can help improve symptoms. Yet even when people are diagnosed with COPD, only half of them are prescribed treatment to help them breathe better.
DRIVE4COPD Partnering Organizations
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the founding sponsor of the campaign, has joined forces with a cross-section of organizations on DRIVE4COPD to bring COPD to the forefront including:
American Lung Association
Now in its second century, the American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. With your generous support, the American Lung Association is “Fighting for Air” through research, education and advocacy. For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit http://www.lungusa.org.
COPD Foundation
The COPD Foundation is a not-for-profit organization created in 2004, and has become the COPD community’s forefront organization, driven by the individuals affected by COPD, that has addressed educational, research and advocacy issues that concern the community in order to improve the quality of life for the 24 million Americans affected by COPD. For more information about the COPD Foundation and its programs, call the C.O.P.D. Information Line at 1-866-316-COPD (2673) or visit the website at http://www.copdfoundation.org.
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America’s premier sports. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and 20 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.
About Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation (Ridgefield, CT) and a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies.
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 138 affiliates in 47 countries and approximately 41,300 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
For more information, please visit http://us.boehringer-ingelheim.com and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/boehringerUS.
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Complete Press Release (PDF)
February 12, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Ifdy Perez, COPD Foundation
Email:
Tel: 1-866-731-2673, ext. 398
COPD Foundation Partners in Drive4COPD Campaign:
Campaign Aims to Spread Awareness and Screen 1 Million for COPD
Daytona Beach, FL (February 12th, 2010)—The race for COPD begins tomorrow during the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway, the day before the Daytona 500.
This is the first race of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season, and launches the DRIVE4COPD campaign, whose goal is to screen 1 million Americans for COPD in 2010.
The COPD Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation and founding partner of the national health campaign, is joining with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NASCAR and other organizations to spread awareness of COPD to find the millions of people who may be at risk for the disease but don’t know it.
DRIVE4COPD aspires to put the brakes on America’s fourth leading cause of death by helping people identify COPD symptoms and take action.
“The COPD Foundation is proud to be a partner in this campaign that’s spreading awareness about COPD all across the country,” President and founder of the COPD Foundation John W. Walsh, says. “This campaign is crucial to our mission of improving the quality of life for those with COPD.”
The DRIVE4COPD All-Star Race Team will then take a few laps around the DRIVE4COPD 300 track to kick off their drive across the United States to find the “missing millions” who may be at risk for COPD.
From February 13th to the 16th, the Race Team will hit 14 cities to raise awareness around DRIVE4COPD and have “Screen Teams” on the ground to administer a brief 5-question survey that helps identify if they may be at risk for COPD. The screener results are submitted and printed on a hand held so people can take their results to their doctors.
On February 14th, the cross-country tour hits Dallas, TX, Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC and Raleigh, NC. February 15th the tour stops in Las Vegas, NV, Nashville, TN, Pittsburgh, PA, Cleveland, OH and Washington DC. On their final day, February 16th, the tour ends in Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI and Boston, MA.
The public is encouraged to continue with the “Race For the Missing Millions” at risk for developing COPD by taking online screeners if they feel they might have symptoms or forwarding the information to loved ones that have symptoms.
To find out more about DRIVE4COPD, visit the campaign’s Web site at DRIVE4COPD.com or the COPD Foundation’s website at http://www.copdfoundation.org
About the COPD Foundation<
The COPD Foundation is dedicated to developing and supporting programs which improve the quality of life through research, education, early diagnosis, and enhanced therapy for persons whose lives are impacted by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The COPD Foundation has several programs dedicated to informing, empowering, educating, and engaging individuals affected by COPD, including both diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals, their families and friends, and their medical professionals. For more information, please visit: http://www.copdfoundation.org.
About COPD
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only chronic disease growing in mortality. It affects approximately 24 million Americans but only 12 million are diagnosed. COPD includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and adult onset (refractory) asthma. Symptoms include breathlessness, wheezing, and chronic coughing. For more information about COPD, visit http://www.copdfoundation.org or call 1-866-316-COPD (2673).
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Complete Press Release (PDF)
February 8, 2010
This past Super Bowl Sunday, the “Hugs4Holly” campaign utilized the social media website Twitter to raise funds for Holly Julian, a COPDer who is facing a double-lung transplant at University Transplant Center in San Antonio, TX.
During halftime, the “Hugs4Holly” campaign urged people to go online and watch “The Other Halftime Show”, a benefit concert put on by TwitterJamBand to raise money for Julian’s medical expenses.
Julian, along with husband Steve Julian (a member of the band), the National Foundation for Transplants and a team of friends, created the “Hugs4Holly” campaign to raise money for her transplant.
Hugs4Holly website
Follow Holly’s campaign on Twitter
More information about the Hugs4Holly campaign
ABC affiliate KSAT-12’s coverage on ‘The Other Halftime Show’
Follow the COPD Foundation on Twitter
