Florida COPD Summit aims at statewide COPD Coalition, action plan
August 12, 2008
Contact: Jorge Zamudio
COPD Foundation
866-731-2673, ext. 246
Release August 12, 2008
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Governor Charlie Crist and members of the Florida Cabinet today recognized the COPD Foundation and the statewide Florida COPD steering committee for their work to create a coalition to combat the growing challenge of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
With COPD affecting more than 900,000 residents of Florida and burgeoning in both prevalence and death rate, the committee plans a “Florida COPD Summit” in November to establish a Florida COPD Coalition and plan an action campaign.
COPD – an umbrella term for lung diseases including emphysema and chronic bronchitis – is the fourth leading cause of death in Florida and the United States, and the only leading cause of death that is increasing.
The goal of the COPD Coalition will be to develop a statewide plan for addressing the COPD burden in the state of Florida, including strategies for public and private initiatives and partnerships. Today’s Florida Cabinet resolution urged Florida academic, government and advocacy organizations to take part in these efforts.
COPD Summit Steering Committee members are David Solomon, MD, Pulmonologist, University of South Florida; Robert Schwartz, MD, Family Physician, University of Miami; Veena Antony, MD, Pulmonologist, University of Florida; Robert Campbell, MD, Family Physician, Florida State University; John Wilgis, Respiratory Therapist, Florida Society for Respiratory Care; and Jorge Zamudio, COPD Foundation.
The health care cost of COPD in Florida was $948 million in 2002 (the latest year for which state figures are available), with more than 51,000 hospitalizations due to the disease that year, an increase of 71 percent from 1992. The cost of COPD in the United States in 2007 was estimated to be about $42 billion, including $26 billion in direct health care expenditures.