Summer 2012 Advocacy Activities
This summer COPD advocates from across the country have been busy spreading awareness and educating elected officials. From Arizona to Massachusetts, advocates have been attending district visits, participating in Capitol Awareness Days, speaking at conferences, and more. Many Americans, including our elected officials, are not informed about COPD.
As members of the COPD community it is up to us to raise COPD awareness among the public to increase screening efforts, diagnosis, and proper disease management. We also have to meet with our elected officials to help them understand the burden of COPD both on an individual level as well as on a national scale. We need our state and federally elected officials to recognize COPD as a health priority and dedicate both state and federal resources to improve COPD research, develop disease management programs, and increase early diagnosis rates. In order to achieve these goals, we need advocates like you to speak out for COPD and let your elected officials know we are depending on them for a change for COPD. Check out some of the activities our advocates have been involved in this summer and if you have advocacy activities of your own that you would like posted or want to get involved email Aimee Bulthuis abulthuis@uscopdcoalition.org.