After attending his sixth PH Skilled Community Symposium, nurse practitioner Steve Walker continues to be amazed by new developments in pulmonary hypertension remedy and care.
“Every change improves the way in which [health care professionals] work and the lives of our sufferers,” says Walker, who works at Kids’s Hospital Philadelphia. “Every change means we’re making progress.”
Walker was amongst greater than 600 well being care professionals who attended the Pulmonary Hypertension Affiliation’s PHPN Symposium Sept. 28-30 in Arlington, Virginia. The attendees got here from almost each state and several other international locations to be taught the newest in PH analysis, therapy and care.
Themed “PHoundations for a Brighter Future,” the symposium was a possibility for attendees to community and construct long-lasting relationships with friends, in addition to advance PH data to use to their practices.
Advocacy Day kicked off the three-day occasion. About 80 well being care professionals visited legislative workplaces on Capitol Hill to teach Congress about PH and their sufferers’ wants. They requested senators to help the Protected Step and HELP Copays acts.
“[Lawmakers] have to know that our sufferers are struggling,” says Robert Scott, a heart specialist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and third-time attendee. “They should know that our sufferers have issue gaining access to efficient medical remedy, are underinsured or oftentimes can’t afford to proceed their medicines as a result of it’s too costly. Something we will do to boost consciousness is a step in the fitting path of achieving accessible well being care.”
Invaluable takeaways
The following two days of PHPN Symposium featured a spread of classes the place attendees may be taught and replicate on inequalities in PH therapy, supplier compassion, constructing a profitable care workforce, oxygen concentrators, technical tips to observe for finest practices and extra.
Marc Humbert, MD, PhD, director of respiratory and intensive care on the French Pulmonary Hypertension Reference Centre, shared the brand new 2022 Europeans Society of Cardiology and European Respiratory Society Tips for therapy. Attendees discovered early detection methods from Humbert, who’s major writer of the brand new tips, in addition to remedy suggestions and learn how to use a brand new software to evaluate sufferers’ dangers.
For Bree Keller, a first-time attendee, each session supplied new context and understanding to her position as a analysis nurse on the College of Colorado.
“I’m not a supplier, however I now have higher perception on what these roles are like,” Keller says. “It’s actually useful to listen to about how they’re working with sufferers as a result of after I see these sufferers later, I’m already on the identical web page as my workforce. I don’t want time to catch up. I’m able to serve my sufferers in one of the best ways I can.”
Supporting scholarships
The symposium additionally allowed attendees to socialize whereas supporting an vital trigger: PHA 2024 convention scholarships for folks with PH. Friday night time featured a drag bingo fundraiser hosted by Tara Hoot of Washington, D.C. Prizes included an Apple watch, wine flights and a nurse care package deal.
“Tara introduced the vitality,” Keller says. “She’s from the Midwest and I’m from the Midwest so all her puns and jokes had been so relatable. I beloved all of the classes, and I beloved networking with everybody, however this was in a very completely different caliber. [Bingo] added a pleasant variant to the combination and simply elevated the enjoyable.”