Letter from the Publisher

Our slogan for this year (“It’s our time in 2009”) is rapidly proving to be a reality.

The focus on Healthcare Reform and other key legislative and regulatory issues emphasize the critical importance of organizing ourselves as COPD Advocates in each Congressional District through our grassroots program Operation 435. Our public policy team has been working overtime advocating for your interests to include them in Health Care Reform initiatives on Capitol Hill.

We’d like to thank those of you who have made calls, sent email messages, and letters supporting the community’s interests. We’re well on our way to having over 100 COPDers in each key Congressional district by COPD Awareness Month in November. By having individuals with COPD in each congressional district communicate with their member of Congress, we can demonstrate the importance of mobilizing our entire community as advocates.

Those of you that haven’t had an opportunity to sign up for our Operation 435 program can do so with a simple call to 1-866-316-COPD (2673). It’s truly up to each and every one of us to get involved. Imagine the impact on public policy if all of those with COPD, 12-24 million people, became COPD Advocates.

Advocacy isn’t the only way you can volunteer to help the community. With the rising number of calls into the C.O.P.D. Information Line, and the ever-expanding increase in awareness, we ask that you consider joining fellow COPDers to help staff our Info Line. If you have a computer with high-speed Internet, please call the Info Line and ask to speak with Bill Clark, our Director of Community Outreach. We also need caregivers to help staff our Caregivers Line.

This issue of the COPD Digest provides updates on several initiatives that have accelerated our ability to help inform, educate, empower and engage an increasing number of individuals with COPD in several critical areas. We feature articles with the latest information on Health Care Reform, advocacy (including an interview with Robert Kline, new spokesperson for the “Rethink COPD” Campaign), and updates from the Foundation in order to inform you of the pertinent issues that affect the COPD community.

In the upcoming fall issue of the Digest, we’ll be providing a “mini-toolkit” giving you the resources to take action and do something during COPD Awareness Month. Make sure to call the Info Line to be on the COPD Foundation mailing list for the next issue!

You can also keep up to date with the Foundation’s activities by frequently checking our website (www.copdfoundation.org), Facebook Cause page (www.causes.com/copdfoundation) and Twitter page (www.twitter.com/copdfoundation) for updates on the Foundation’s activities.

If you haven’t signed on to participate in an event, or if you’re not signed up to receive email alerts from the COPD Foundation, it’s not too late! Call the Information Line or sign onto our website to be on the Foundation’s mailing list. We’ll help you get connected or provide you with your own Advocacy and Awareness Kit.

Again, I reiterate the importance for each of us to become involved. Think about it: the Power of the People. It’s OUR time in 2009!

• John W. Walsh

P.S. The COPD Foundation just opened an office in Washington, DC to better represent the needs of the COPD community in our nation’s capitol!