Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! If you caught my reel at the beginning of the month, you may remember that I teased some cool projects coming up. We definitely try to not repeat ourselves when it comes to resources. Either way, I think you are going to LOVE what we have going on!
First off, I am really excited about our latest educational video. I had the chance to interview a good friend of mine, Jeanne, about her experiences with using nebulized medications. Jeanne shares how important it has been for her health to stick with her medication plan as closely as possible, and how using a nebulizer has helped her with that. She also talks about developing good habits that help her remember to take her meds. Finally, she gives some advice on how you can make sure you are taking the best care of yourself! If you have not seen it already, check it out today. Around the end of the month, we will be launching a new e-learning course to help you follow Jeanne’s example.
Just in time to celebrate Black History Month, we just published our latest entry in the 101 Library, Cultural Humility 101. This piece is designed to help health care professionals better understand how to care for people across diverse cultures and communities. It can be difficult to reflect on one’s potential biases and assumptions. We hope the Cultural Humility 101 deck can help make that journey a little easier. While it is aimed at clinicians, there are certainly bits of wisdom sprinkled throughout that can help us all become better allies for each other!
Our COPD Nebulizer Consortium is looking for information from patients, caregivers, and clinicians about all the medications that are in use for COPD. The Consortium is trying to better understand any possible infection risks that go along with medications. That way, we can all work together to improve safety for the community! The quiz takes about five minutes and can be found at https://copdf.co/neb-survey.
While his team came up just short in the Super Bowl, we still love Fred Warner for dedicating his cleats to the COPD cause! As part of the National Football League’s My Cause My Cleats program, Fred wore custom cleats featuring the COPD Foundation and Lace Up For Lungs logos. A pair of game-worn cleats signed by Fred himself are being auctioned off, with proceeds coming to support our programs. There is still time to get your bids in, and of course to thank Fred on social media!
Finally, even though there is still snow in the air, we are looking ahead to our big events later this year. World Bronchiectasis Day will return for its third year on July 1st. This year’s event promises to be bigger than ever, bringing the world together to better understand this often-unrecognized lung problem. World Oxygen Day follows in the fall on October 2nd (or 10/”O2”/24). We are aiming to tell even more stories about living well with oxygen therapy and to remind the world that everybody needs oxygen…some bodies just need a little extra. And, of course, COPD Awareness Month is always one of the biggest deals of November. This year, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary year, promises to be no different!
All along the way, we will always be looking for better ways to connect and engage with you all. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us about projects you would like to see or resources you would like to have. After all, YOU are our purpose and our mission. In the spirit of St. Valentine, we love you!