PHPN Members Walk to Benefit PH Patients

PHA President Rino Aldrighetti (right) and Symposium
Planning Committee Chair, Fran Rogers, MSN, CRNP

PHA hosted its first PHPN Networking Fun Walk on Friday, Sept. 18, as part of the 2015 PHPN Symposium. The walk drew more than 200 registrants and raised money for patient scholarships for PHA’s 2016 International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions.


In an effort to bring a new spin to this year’s Symposium, the Symposium Committee planned a walk to promote pulmonary hypertension awareness, raise funds and involve the healthcare professionals who care for so many PH patients each year. The PHPN Fun Walk brought together nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, social workers, physicians and other non-physician clinicians, as well as many of PHA’s corporate partners and staff.

Fran Rodgers, MSN, CRNP, PHPN Symposium Committee Chair, spoke to the importance of helping PH patients. She explained, “We come to Symposium every other year to learn what’s on the cutting edge of PH so we can better care for our patients. Through the money we raise at our very first fun walk, we hope to provide Conference scholarships for our patients so they, too, can learn what’s on the cutting edge of PH, allowing them to better care for themselves.” She added, “We truly hope this is the start of something big!”

PHA is dedicated to providing valuable education and resources to the PH community. One of the best resources to PH patients has been the International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions, which has given patients access to information and medical resources. With the Symposium’s support towards patient scholarships, PH education for our community grows.

The Conference Scholarship program is a fund specifically created to assist in minimizing expenses for patients and caregivers in need of financial aid. Those who cannot afford to attend miss experiencing great peer-to-peer networking, support and education. Without a scholarship, some patients are unable to attend. PHA is dedicated to helping to bring PH patients together for a chance to learn, network and be empowered by others within the PH community.

For more information about the 2016 International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions, please visit www.PHAssociation.org/Conference. For more photos from the walk, search for #PHPN2015 on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

There is still time to contribute to the 2015 PHPN Fun Walk!

Team PHenomenal Hope Members Help Kick Off 2015 PHPN Symposium

Team PHenomenal Hope members Dr. Patricia George and Anne-Marie Alderson were keynote speakers at the 2015 PHPN Symposium Opening Dinner on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 17. They spoke about how they have taken competitive bike racing to the next level by using it as an opportunity to raise PH awareness. And they also spoke about the importance of teamwork, partnership and preparing for unexpected obstacles. These were themes that very easily translate to the healthcare professionals who made up the audience.

 

Watch a short clip of their speech.

Over the last few years, Team PHenomenal Hope has played a major role in raising funds and awareness for pulmonary hypertension – and the ultra-endurance team shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. If team members aren’t racing, they’re training and preparing for the next race while also heavily promoting the PH cause.

Just last month, Dr. George, a pulmonologist at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), took her bike across the Atlantic and competed in the Paris-Brest-Paris bike race - a 764-mile roundtrip course from Paris, France, to Brest, France, and then back to Paris.

When Team PH formed several years ago, they were partly inspired by Dr. Robert Frantz; Jessica Lazar, PA; and Dr. Raymond Benza and the trio's 2010 trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds and awareness of PH. Team PH decided to do similar awareness and fund raising when they took on the Race Across America (RAAM) in 2014. RAAM, which is a 3,000-mile bike race from Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md., is longer than the Tour De France and considered to be one of the toughest bike races in the world. Dr. George and Alderson, along with their two teammates Ryanne “Ryo” Palermo and Stacie Truszkowski, two back-up racers, and countless crew members, succeeded in completing the race in seven days, seven hours and 15 minutes.

Once the momentum began, Team PH could not stop with just one race. They have grown into a team of both men and women competing in endurance events across the country and around the world. This past June, Dr. George and Alderson took on the Race Across the West. This shorter, but still very challenging race, took the two from Oceanside, Calif., to Durango, Colo.