Conference 2014: a road trip with PHA leadership...

It's coming...

PHA's 11th International PH Conference will be held June 20-22, 2014.

Last week, PHA's Conference Planning Committee met at the Conference site - the J.W. Marriott in Indianapolis, Ind. - to begin its work. Hosting a Conference for 1,500 of our closest friends is no small task ... it is a 15-month effort, this time led by Linda Carr and Rita Orth.  Linda's daughter Hannah was diagnosed at 5 and is now a married college graduate who is raising her adopted daughter.  Rita is a nurse and patient from California who has been living with PH for a number of years.

It's important for as many of PHA's leaders as possible to get to know the Conference hotel, so the Planning Committee wasn't alone last week. More than 50 PHA leaders and staff were at the Marriott for various meetings.

Looking at those meetings gives a pretty good picture of how PHA is governed and moves forward.

On Thursday, March 14, the first meetings began. PH Professional Network (PHPN) is PHA's membership group for nurses, pharmacists and other non-MD medical professionals. The PHPN executive committee members spent a good part of the day planning and discussing their upcoming Symposium - a three-day meeting that will provide education to more than 400 of their medical members. They are also active in producing web-based educational content for nurses, pharmacists and respiratory therapists on PHA Online University.

On the same day, four medical committees, who have spent the past 18 months planning different aspects of a new PHA program to accredit PH Centers of Care, held a workshop to refine their plans and discuss their thinking across committee lines.

This was followed on Friday by PHA's Scientific Leadership Council (SLC) meeting. The SLC is PHA's highest level medical leadership body. Among many other items, the SLC had the opportunity to hear and discuss the Centers of Care committee proposals. Another important discussion took place as a result of the many educational programs being delivered through PHA. The SLC arrived at some conclusions on how it can better coordinate these programs to offer greater value.

PHA's Board committees began their meetings Friday afternoon. The Conference, Strategic Planning and Governanace committees all had lively discussions in preparation for the weekend's Board of Trustees meeting. The Saturday and Sunday Board meeting covered a wide variety of issues from insurance and PHA's developing Specialty Pharmacy Review Board to the Early Diagnosis Campaign and support groups. Good discussions were held related to PHA's sustainability efforts in connection with our Chapters (New York, Midwest and San Francisco) and recently strengthened Development program. A highlight of the weekend was a visit with the Indianapolis PH Support Group which was meeting in the same hotel.

Every one of these patient, caregiver and medical leaders is a volunteer. It is a tribute to the strength of this community that so many (in these leadership groups and beyond) are doing so much to advance the fight against PH.

So, all in all, more than 50 Board members and staff did their important work ... and got to know our Conference hotel at the same time! We're ready to host PHA's 11th International PH Conference! (Well, actually, after another 15 months of exciting work!)