Help millions of people live with less pain and fund groundbreaking research to discover a cure for this devastating disease.
Advocating During a Pandemic: Advocacy and Arthritis Go Hand in Hand
Patrice Johnson, Platinum Ambassador, CA California State Advocacy Committee Member | Live Yes! Online Community Forum Moderator The COVID-19 pandemic has radically affected all our lives. On the advocacy front, Arthritis Foundation Advocates and Ambassadors were concerned that we could not meet in person with our legislators to advocate for our priorities, especially as the pandemic made legislative changes even more necessary. Many of us came to the solution of meeting virtually.In April, my State Director, Steven Schultz, arranged a virtual meeting over Zoom for myself and other members of the California State Advocacy Committee with our Senator. Inspired by this meeting, ...more
LA Step Therapy Win
The Arthritis Foundation is pleased to announce that Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed HB 263 into law as Act 181. This law strengthens protections for Louisianans who are living with arthritis and cements Louisiana as having one of the strongest step therapy laws in the country. Act 181 was prioritized and passed during the COVID-19 pandemic and will improve the state’s existing step therapy law. Also known as “fail first,” step therapy is a process that forces patients to try and fail drugs insurance companies choose, before the patient gets to use the medication their doctor originally prescribed. This may ...more
We are Camp Stronger than JA, virtually!
This summer may look different, but we will still have opportunities to connect at JA Camp. Our new virtual JA Camp experience brings the magic of summer camp to all campers with JA, wherever you happen to be! While we cannot replace being in person together, we are excited to give campers an alternative option for connection and fun. The Arthritis Foundation is proud to offer free, at-home summer camp experiences across the United States for kids and teens with juvenile arthritis and related childhood rheumatic diseases. Juvenile arthritis (JA) camps are sponsored nationally by Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity and Foundation (AOII), ...more
COVID-19: What Do We Know Now?
By Julie Eller, co-host of the Live Yes! With Arthritis Podcast In the past three months, people in our country and across the world have experienced so much change. We have worked together by staying isolated at home. We have supported our health care workers by forgoing elective medical procedures, sewing protective masks and even joining those rounds of applause we have heard in the streets. We have come together to stand as a united community, vocally advocating for those at high risk, like the immunocompromised, elderly and people of color who are disproportionately impacted by medical crises like this pandemic. Importantly, we have taken these three months to learn as much as we can ...more
Step Therapy
I started having symptoms of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at just 14 years old. I knew something was wrong when I started having swelling in my knee. It took two years of misdiagnoses and treatments before being diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. As a teenager I went from managing my academic and social calendar to also managing an incurable chronic illness. By graduation, my arthritis had spread to over 5 joints affecting my hands, knees, ankles, and feet. As I started college, I also started weekly injections and a collegiate soccer career. I was told by many that maintaining my health and ...more
Meet Olivia Kwan: One of Our Newest Foundation Sponsored Fellows!
Right now, access to care is not always guaranteed for arthritis patients, and the problem is even worse for children living with juvenile arthritis. A child with arthritis currently travels an average of 57 miles to be seen by a pediatric rheumatologist. The Arthritis Foundation has been working to help close the gap on the nation’s rheumatologist shortage through our fellowship initiative. In 2018 we announced five fellowship awards; one of those grants was offered to the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, which recently announced their fellowship has been awarded to Dr. Olivia Kwan. Dr. Kwan earned her ...more
Survive & Thrive: Together in Isolation
It’s game on for Rob Gronkowski and Matt Iseman on the Live Yes! With Arthritis Podcast. This was not your typical discussion about chronic pain and arthritis. There was laughing. There were singing and dancing. There was even juggling. It was just what we needed to cut through the isolation of the new coronavirus world. Former pro football player Rob Gronkowski – known by fans as “Gronk” – teamed up with Matt Iseman, host of American Ninja Warrior and a longtime friend of the Arthritis Foundation who has rheumatoid arthritis, to share their stories and some laughs on the Live Yes! ...more
Gerica's Tips for the "New" Normal
By now, those of you reading this are likely experiencing a shelter-in-place order, school cancellations, or other social distancing situations in your own communities due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Here in California, our state is under a statewide shelter-in-place directive and I am on week 2 of 4 with my children’s schools transitioning to “distance learning”. Some districts in our area have already announced this will continue for the remainder of the school year. If you are anything like me, this sudden and massive change has rocked your family unit and you are trying to navigate the unfamiliar. Two weeks ...more