PHA News is meant to give a picture of recent events and activities affecting the life
of the PH community. This compilation should not be viewed as endorsement of the
information provided or its accuracy.
NEWS
--Lungs Have Their Own Blood Pressure
--Seneca Valley Senior Fills School Gallery with Emotion of Transplant
--MaxCyte Organizes Stem Cell Session at BIO 2007
ANNOUNCEMENTS
--New Major Medical Award Launched
--There is Power in our Numbers -- Join PHA
--Only Half of Free Registration Scholarships Left for PH Resource Network Symposium
--PHA Director of Finance Position Opening
New Online Support Group Chat on Mondays
Starts Today, May 14!
Merle Reeseman, from the Cleveland, Ohio and Mercer, Pa. support groups, will be hosting a new online support group chat on Mondays at 9pm EST (6pm PST).
As those of you who use our message boards know, the boards have been very slow lately, and for some users impossible to access. This is because our message board database is too large – we have around 78,000 messages dating back to January 2003. In order to keep this as a valuable service to our community, we are proposing to remove all messages dated before 2006 from the boards, except the Age, Dx, Location board and the Passages board. The Age, Dx, Location board is a place to keep posts about your information so new visitors know who you are and everyone doesn’t have to reintroduce themselves every time a new visitor joins. The Passages board is for remembering those who lost the battle with PH. If you’d like to keep messages from any of the other boards from before 2006, please repost them in whichever of these two boards is appropriate. If your message is not appropriate for either of these boards, but you think the general PH community would benefit from the information, we encourage you to submit it to us for possible inclusion in the educational information and tips we provide or reposting to the boards.
After reviewing any comments from board users, our current plan is to do cleanup of messages from before 2006 on May 28 so you should be sure to move messages by Sunday, May 27. We will make a copy of the messages we remove to keep internally, so if you miss one please contact Diane at web@PHAssociation.org or 301-565-3004 x119 after the cleanup and we can post it to one of these boards for you.
These issues message board users have been facing raise an important question about what we should be doing on a regular basis to keep our boards running smoothly and provide the best experience possible for users. The boards are for you so we want to make sure the experience is what you want. Please consider providing feedback by joining an advisory committee on the future of the message boards or by sending us your comments. Contact Diane at web@PHAssociation.org or 301-565-3004 x119.
Summer is coming and its time to find summer camps for the kids. But as you know, there are certain things you need to consider when finding a camp for kids with PH. Pathlight Parent Under21 Editor Nancy Frede lays it all out in this very useful guide with online resources and things to consider when finding a summer camp for a child who has PH.
The Spring 2007 issue of PHA's Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension medical journal is now available online. This issue has articles on the associations between hemoglobinopathies and pulmonary hypertension. It is also the first issue led by our new Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Ronald J. Oudiz. We thank outgoing Editor-in-Chief Dr. Vallerie V. McLaughlin for all of her tireless work over the past 2 years.
Come visit the PHA booth! PHA will be setting up our booths in the exhibit halls at both the ATS International Conference in San Francisco, Calif., and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses Conference in Atlanta, Ga. Stop by to pick up the most recent issue of the journal, check out the latest PHA materials, or finally see some of the faces behind many of your e-mails! We hope to see you there.
En Español Materials:
Updates and a New Tip Sheet
Our Spanish language materials in our En Español web section have been updated. We also translated our new, popular "10 Things to Do When You, Your Child or Someone You Love is Diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension" (10 Cosas Importantes que hacer cuando a ti o a uno de tus hijos le diagnostican Hipertensión Pulmonar) tip sheet. Spread the word with your doctors, nurses and PH friends who speak Spanish.
Lungs Have Their Own Blood Pressure
The lungs have their own blood pressure, only about one-fifth of what the body's blood pressure is. They can't tolerate pressure much higher than that. Lung blood pressure can rise just as body blood pressure does, and most often it rises independently of body blood pressure. The disorder is called pulmonary hypertension. Read article
Seneca Valley Senior Fills School Gallery with Emotion of Transplant
Art student Dave Rocco's installation piece, now on display at Seneca Valley Intermediate High-School's BIG Gallery, exhibits what he felt after undergoing a double lung and heart transplant in September at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Oakland. Read article
MaxCyte Organizes Stem Cell Session at BIO 2007
MaxCyte, Inc., a clinical stage therapeutics company and pioneer in cell loading systems, announces a panel session on stem cell therapeutics entitled, "Delivering the Promise of Stem Cell Therapeutics?" will take place at BIO 2007 -- the Biotechnology Industry Organization's annual meeting and convention. Read article
ANNOUNCEMENTS
New Major Medical Award Launched PHA is pleased to announce the creation of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Award of Excellence in PAH Care. Recipients of this exciting new honor are selected by a committee of their peers on the basis of their outstanding scientific and clinical contributions to the PH community. The award is supported by Actelion and carries a $50,000 prize to the winning physician's medical center. It will be an annual award, given in alternating years at the American Thoracic Society meeting and PHA’s International Conference. This year's winner will be introduced next week at the American Thoracic Society’s meeting -- watch the next edition of PHA News for the results!
There is Power in our Numbers -- Join PHA PHA's membership reflects who we are and the collective strength of our community. Our numbers attract attention, whether in the halls of Congress or from the media. Membership is a win-win proposition -- you benefit individually from the array of member benefits PHA offers; the PH community benefits collectively when our voice is strong.
Join at the level that best meets your needs and circumstances:
$15 — Individual
$35 — Family
$60 — Supporter
$100 — Leadership
$1,000 — Committee of 10
Stand up and be counted. Your membership makes a difference.
For more information about member benefits or to join, go online or contact Sarah -- 301-565-3004 x127, Sarah@PHAssociation.org. If you can’t afford the membership fee, but would like to join, talk to Sarah about a complimentary membership.
Only Half of Free Registration Scholarships Left for PH Resource Network Symposium The PH Resource Network is holding their biennial symposium October 11-13, 2007. The first 300 eligible registrants get free registration -- and 150 scholarships have already been given out -- so help us spread the word about this unique networking and learning event for PH treating allied health professionals. The symposium includes a lobby day, a great opportunity to get together and meet with their Members of Congress. 70 attendees have already signed up, 10 more than participated altogether in the 2005 Lobby Day. Learn more and register
PHA Director of Finance Position Opening Do you know someone with an accounting or business degree, non-profit experience and an interest in working for a dynamic, mission-driven organization?
PHA is looking for a new Director of Finance. During the past six years, PHA's budget has grown from $150,000 to $4.8 million in an intentional effort to fight pulmonary hypertension. The Director of Finance is responsible for overseeing the full range of financial management systems as well as overseeing human resource management.
Direct qualified friends and family to our online listing to learn more.
The
information provided on the PHA website is provided for general information
only. It is not intended as legal, medical or other professional
advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations
with qualified professionals who are familiar with your individual
needs.
HEADLINES
Attending ATS or AACN 2007?
