NATIONAL PANCREAS FOUNDATION APPOINTS DAVID BAKELMAN AS CEO
The
National Pancreas Foundations’
(The NPF) Board of Directors recently announced David Bakelman as the new CEO.
Bakelman has a rich history in growing nonprofits through his senior-level leadership over the past 15 years. Most recently, David served as CEO of The Pap Corps – Champions of Cancer Research and raised funds for cancer research at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center – University of Miami.
“We are honored that David has joined the organization,” said
Dana K. Andersen, MD, FACS
, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “His executive experience in the nonprofit realm will guide the NPF to the next level of success, by increasing our fundraising initiatives and patient programs.”
To read the full press release, please
CLICK HERE
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FROM PATIENT TO ADVOCATE - ADRIANA'S STORY
Adriana Llames - Cowdin was first diagnosed with acute pancreatitis in 2015. She was hospitalized for 10 days. Initially doctors thought it was her gall bladder, but then diagnosed her with an acute pancreatitis attack.
Adriana was chosen as one of the eight panelists to share her pancreatitis journey at the March 3rd, Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) Meeting on Pancreatitis in Silver Spring, MD. This town-hall style meeting brought together close to 60 patients, caregivers, as well as stakeholders such as the FDA who were ready to listen to patients share their voice.
"I originally came to find out about NPF through Facebook. I'd be diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and was looking for any, and all, information I could find. I was grateful that I found NPF as it was a plethora of information," said Adriana.
In tandem with the PFDD meeting, Adriana, a member of the NPF Indiana Chapter Board, also attended the NPF Chapter Chair's Retreat and participated in the Annual Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC) Public Policy Forum where pancreas disease advocates can meet with their state representatives on the Hill. "This year I had the opportunity to lobby Congress and the Senate on behalf of NPF and, to be honest, I was nervous." said Adriana. "I visited 5 Congressmen and Senators, shared my story and lobbied for additional funding for NIH and CDC to support pancreatitis awareness and funding. Sharing my story was the most important part and truly opened the eyes of the legislators in every case. Little did I know that simply sharing what I'd been through was going to make the difference. Given the opportunity, I'll participate in lobbying every year."
To listen to Adriana's pancreatitis story, please
CLICK HERE
(starts at 6:15).
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Education and advocacy are part of the National Pancreas Foundation's (NPF) mission. Please see the list of events that are coming up throughout the year. We hope you are able to join us! For a complete list, please see our
Events Page
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PATIENT EDUCATION EVENTS
New 2020 Dates Coming soon!
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SUPPORT GROUPS
If you would like to establish a support group in your city, please contact National Chapter Manager, Patrick Salami at psalami@pancreasfoundation.org.
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CHAPTER & NPF EVENTS
(Due to COVID-19 precautions, all March and April NPF events will be rescheduled or webcasted)
- Chapter Chair's Retreat | Washington, DC | February 28 - March 1, 2020
- NPF and Ariel Precision Medicine Webinar on Genetics and Pancreatitis | April 1, 2020
- DC Capitol Region Strike-Out Pancreas Disease Event* | Gaithersburg, MD | June 20, 2020
- Marine Corps Marathon and 10K | Washington, DC | October 25, 2020*
*Save the date! More details to follow.
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PARTICIPATE IN THE POST-PFDD MEETING SURVEY
The NPF needs the help of pancreatitis patients and caregivers of patients. The monumental meeting is over, but our work is not done. We want to make sure the voices of patients are heard.
If you attended the PFDD meeting whether in-person or via webcast, or couldn't make it, please take a moment to complete the post-meeting survey to a
dd to the Voice of the Patient Report that will be sent to the FDA. Let your voice be heard with just six short questions. Please complete all entries by April 30th.
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For those that couldn't watch the March 3rd PFDD meeting, it's now on our YouTube channel and broken down in sections. We encourage you to watch, leave comments and don't forget to subscribe to the NPF YouTube channel for updated videos.
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Calling all medical professionals! Cincinnati Children’s is offering a live online Q&A on April 30, 2020. During the event, Dr. Maisam A. Abu-El-Haija, MD; Jaimie D. Nathan, MD; will provide an overview of pancreas care and answer questions in real-time. For more information and to see the full agenda, please click on the image above.
To see other medical education opportunities, please
CLICK HERE
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