Creation of a COPD Program at CDC
There
are programs dedicated to reducing death and disease at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) for virtually every leading cause of death
in the U.S., but no such dedicated program has been created for COPD - even
though COPD is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. and kills more than
130,000 Americans each year. We are joining with the American Lung
Association, the American Thoracic Society, the COPD Caucus and other COPD
patient and professional organizations to urge Congress to create a
program at the CDC to address COPD. To implement this program we are
asking you to call, or write to your senators and ask them to sign onto the
"Dear Colleague letter" being distributed in the Senate by Senator
Lincoln and Senator Crapo of the COPD Caucus. With this new program, CDC will
be able to expand critical surveillance activities and create a comprehensive
national action plan for combating COPD, all of which would allow the U.S. to
begin to address prevention, treatment, and research for this disease.
Please contact your Senators urge
them to sign the COPD Dear Colleague letter to allocate money to fund creation
of a COPD program at CDC. Here's how:
Go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
2. Enter your Zip Code and click on "GO".
3. Click on "Federal" in the top box.
4. Click once on the checkmark in front of "Barack Obama President"
and on the checkmark in front of your Representative's name (so as not to send
the letter to them ).
5. As your subject, type or paste in: Please
Sign the COPD Dear Colleague Letter
6. As your Issue area, select "Health" in the dropdown menu
7. Compose your own
message, or paste in the following:
I am writing to urge you to sign
the COPD Dear Colleague letter being distributed in the Senate by Senator
Lincoln and Senator Crapo of the COPD Caucus, supporting the allocation of $1 million to establish a
federal COPD Action program at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) . COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is
the fourth leading cause of death in America, claiming the lives of more than
130,000 Americans each year.
There are an estimated 24
million Americans with COPD. It is the only disease in the top 5 leading
causes of death that continues to increase. Currently, the CDC does not have
any funding to devote to prevention, surveillance and research into this
disease. I believe that the establishment of a national COPD program to expand
surveillance activities and create a comprehensive national action plan for
combating COPD is essential to begin to address this critical public health
problem.
Calling on the CDC, the nation's
premier health prevention institution, would be the most effective strategy to
enhance prevention and treatment of this devastating disease. Currently, there
is very little information gathered at CDC about COPD. More surveillance is
needed in order to give public health experts a better picture of disease
trends; identify disparities in health status and use of health care; support
biomedical and health services research; and provide information for making
changes in public policies and programs.
I am a
COPD patient and member of EFFORTS, www.emphysema.net,
an online COPD, support, advocacy organization. Providing these funds will allow
the CDC to begin planning and disease monitoring activities needed to get
control of COPD. Please work to ensure that at least $1 million is appropriated
to CDC this year for a COPD program and sign onto the Dear Colleague letter.
8. Fill in the blanks with the information about yourself.
9. Click on the "Send Message" button.
That's it! You have just written to your Senator. And now, please drop a note
to fredefforts@aol.com so we can add your letters to our count. Thank you.
Text and Images, this page: © 2008
EFFORTS
EMPHYSEMA FOUNDATION FOR OUR RIGHT TO SURVIVE
E-mail EFFORTS