COPD Foundation launches the COPD360 Community Engagement Committee
Washington, DC – September 30th, 2020: COPD Foundation launches the COPD360 Community Engagement Committee, embracing the patient and caregiver perspective is the single most effective way to achieve the Foundation’s mission
In order to amplify and diversify the patient and caregiver voice in all COPD Foundation efforts, and in concert with the recently launched Digital Health & Therapeutics Accelerator Network (COPD360Net), the COPD Foundation is delighted to announce the launch of the COPD360 Community Engagement Committee. The COPD Foundation is a not-for-profit organization focused on improving the lives of those affected by and stopping the progression of COPD and related lung conditions.
In partnership with the COPD Foundation’s health care and scientific community, the COPD360 Community Engagement Committee pledges to:
- Gather input from the organization’s patient and caregiver community
- Advise COPD Foundation on strategic priorities that are important to patients and their families
- Provide input into all aspects of COPD Foundation patient engagement
- Ensure the safety of patients is always the first priority in all COPD Foundation endeavours
Linda Walsh, Chief Community Engagement Officer said: "The COPD Foundation was patient founded and remains patient driven. The patient has always been at the center of our mission. This Committee fortifies our commitment to people with COPD and ensures their voices are heard."
The COPD360 Community Engagement Committee is comprised of a broad group of 11 patient advocates from diverse backgrounds across the country that aims to give patients and caregivers more influence in the Foundation and its strategic decision making.
The structure for the committee supports the development of COPD360Net, a network of core COPD Foundation accredited organizations who collaborate to accelerate innovation of digital health and therapeutic treatments and their clinical adoption. Engaging individuals with COPD, their caregivers, and families ensures efforts in treatment and prevention maintain and strengthen the patient-centered perspective.
Dr Ruth Tal-Singer, President and Chief Scientific Officer at the COPD Foundation said: "To enhance our success as a research, education, and advocacy organization, input gleaned from this diverse and initially US-based committee is the most recent example of the COPD Foundation’s commitment to reinventing how we integrate these critical perspectives into everything we do."
"It is vital that innovative solutions and health care delivery start with and are reliant on engaging patients early and often,” says Karen Erickson, Co-chair of the Engagement Committee. “As patients and caregivers, we are varied in our COPD journeys but unified in our understanding that true solutions to our health can only be realized when we step up and step in. We are motivated to ensure those navigating COPD now, and in the future, have the tools they need to live the best possible lives possible."
Both of these initiatives ¬— the COPD360 Community Engagement Committee and COPD360Net - have been launched ahead of COPD Awareness Month in November. Find out more about the committee and its members at https://www.copdfoundation.org/About-Us/Who-We-Are/COPD360-Community-Engagement-Committee.aspx.
About the COPD Foundation
The COPD Foundation is a not-for-profit organization created in 2004, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Miami, FL.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease. The COPD Foundation was established to speed innovations which will make treatment more effective and affordable, to undertake initiatives that result in expanded services for COPD patients, and improve the lives of patients with COPD and related disorders (through scientific research, education and awareness) that will lead to prevention and a stop in the progression of COPD.
Media Inquiries Contact:
Linda Walsh, Chief Community Engagement Officer
lwalsh@copdfoundation.org
866-731-COPD (2673), ext. 358
www.copdfoundation.org