C.O.P.D. Information Line
The C.O.P.D. Information Line has taken thousands of calls from individuals seeking information about COPD. Going strong, the C.O.P.D. Information Line is rapidly expanding its resources, keeping up with the educational and supportive needs of the COPD community, and constantly training new volunteers who join the team wanting to make a difference. Although the Information Line has grown tremendously since the program’s launch in January, it never lost heart. “We are people who are living with COPD who are trying to reach out to help others with COPD,” says C.O.P.D. Information Line Manager Bill Clark. “We don’t give out medical advice, but we can and do offer the knowledge that you are not alone.”
How it all started
The C.O.P.D. Information Line began in conjunction with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to educate and spread advocacy for COPD awareness. “As the word gets out about our Line, we get more and more calls, and we haven’t begun even denting the need,” stated C.O.P.D. Information Line Scheduling Manager, Joe Meeks. “Millions out there need help. Calls range from general information about the disease, to questions about paying for medications, traveling with oxygen, and lifestyle changes, to specific information on a particular facet of COPD. Our associates are ready and willing to get the information the caller needs.”
With the extensive resources that the C.O.P.D. Information Line offers, individuals with COPD are empowered, educated, and encouraged to take action for COPD after speaking with someone else that understands and has experience living with COPD.
Every C.O.P.D. Information Line volunteer associate has stories to tell about their experience staffing the Information Line and how they helped a fellow COPDer in their community. “When you talk with a caller who has been just diagnosed, the first thing you pick up is that they are scared,” says Bill Clark, C.O.P.D. Information Line Program Manager. “You remember that feeling from when you were first diagnosed. The ability to extend hope and concern to that caller is a reward beyond price.”
The C.O.P.D. Information Line helps bring together COPDers from across the country to put on their 21st century skills into play and provide all the resources the Information Line offers. From pulmonary rehabilitation facilities in most every state, support groups, questions about COPD, clinical trials—you name it!—an associate is there to help. But besides becoming a “Virtual COPD Information Hub,” the Information Line has created a special community of COPD advocates.
They’ve become active advocates. And they’ve become friends. But Bill Clark sums up the accomplishments of all associates by virtue of the Information Line in just one sentence: “The Information Line touches many lives, one phone call at a time.”
Facts about the Information Line
The Information Line operates Monday through Friday from 9AM to 9PM Eastern Time. You can call toll-free at 1-866-316-COPD (2673) to speak to an individual with COPD. They can assist you with almost any question you may have—from subscribing to the COPD Digest, to requesting a package of information, to finding out the next time there’s a COPD event in your area, you name it!
Volunteer for the Information Line
The C.O.P.D. Information Line is looking for new volunteers to join the C.O.P.D. Information Line community! If you are an individual diagnosed with COPD, have a high-speed Internet connection and Windows XP, and can volunteer to help staff the Information Line for 4-8 hours each week, call the C.O.P.D. Information Line at 1-866-316-COPD (2673) or email Bill at , to apply to become a volunteer. Get involved and make a difference in a fellow COPDer’s life!
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