News
Foundation president has a busy time marking both Alpha-1 Awareness Month and COPD Awareness Month
John Walsh, president and co-founder of both the Alpha-1 Foundation and COPD Foundation, had a particularly busy month in November, which was both Alpha-1 Awareness Month and COPD Awareness Month.
Walsh was the opening speaker at the unveiling of the DRIVE4COPD monument in Tampa, FL, an installation of 24 large-scale pinwheels placed as a visual representation of the estimated 24 million sufferers of COPD in the United States. The DRIVE4COPD campaign is dedicated to helping people “recognize the signs and symptoms of COPD and take action,” said Walsh.
Walsh also chaired a panel at the second World Conference of COPD Patient Organizations in Shanghai, China. He spoke on the future of COPD patient organizations and the COPD Patients Bill of Rights which was established at the first world conference held in 2009. Walsh also took part in a panel discussion on how these rights need to be translated into action in the participants’ home countries.
Nov. 16, World COPD Day, Walsh joined Byron Thomashow, MD, chair of the COPD Foundation board, and Bill Clark, director of outreach programs, for a webinar on the impact of COPD and how to raise awareness.
Walsh also joined Jeff Teckman, MD, for a telecall to the Alpha-1 community on the need for a natural history study of Alpha-1 liver disease, and the urgent need for more liver-affected Alphas to join the Alpha-1 Foundation Research Registry. The call was part of an ongoing series sponsored by the Alpha-1 Association.
National Institute of Health Director Francis Collins, MD, invited Walsh to serve on the National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council (NIDDK) of the NIH for a five-year term. The council advises, assists, consults with and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the director of the NIDDK.
Walsh was also re-nominated to serve on the board of the National Health Council. Board members are chosen by election in December.
