Letter from the Editor

Welcome to Everything Respiratory magazine. In this issue we’re excited to bring you a variety of stories about asthma, COPD, allergies, sleep disorders, rare lung diseases and nutrition and exercise. We’re especially pleased to be featuring two articles featuring COPD pioneer Vlady Rozenbaum. We think you’ll learn much from both. Also be sure to check out articles about the latest in food allergies and sleep disorders. We also want to hear from you. If you have story ideas or a story to tell, give us a call at 1.877.376.2448 or drop us an email (editor@ermag.org). This is after all a magazine published just for you.

Patrick Callahan, Editor-In-Chief

The following is from a post to the COPD-ALERT Yahoo group:

June 11, 2008

Dear AANMA Friends and MDI Transition Working Group Members:

Please take a moment to ask your Congressional Representatives to sign on to the Dear Colleague letter to Secretary Leavitt regarding the MDI Transition!

During Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill (AADCH) May 7, 2008, we asked Congress to help make millions of respiratory patients aware that they must switch from CFC propelled albuterol inhalers to non-CFC alternatives by December 31, 2008.  The federal mandate did not come with provisions necessary to inform or monitor patients making the transition. Nor did it compensate families and patients who must now assume the financial burden of making the switch.

Representatives Nita Lowey ((D-NY) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) took the lead and are circulating a Dear Colleague letter on the Hill asking other offices to sign onto a letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt asking him to (1) launch a national awareness and education campaign, (2) institute a process for monitoring patients, and (3) place HFA inhalers at the lowest co-pay tier for Medicare patients.

Please take a moment to ask your Congressional Representatives to sign on to letter to Secretary Leavitt!

To locate your Congressional Representative¹s phone number, click here http://www.capwiz.com/aanma/home/ and enter in your zip code.

Immediately place a call to your Representative. Ask to speak with the Health Legislative Assistant. Identify yourself and where you are from and say that you hope the Representative will sign onto the Dear Colleague letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt by contacting on the Democratic side Representative Nita Lowey¹s office at 202-225-6506 (ask for Jean Doyle) or on the Republican side Representative Stearns¹ office at 202-225-5744 (ask for Mike Anway) by this Friday, June 13, 2008.

If you are connected to voice mail, leave a message with the above information.

Please take one extra moment to let me know you made the call:
sfwalker@aanma.org or 800-878-4403 x115.

Thank you for your continuing support and immediate response to issues that affect patients with respiratory conditions.

Sandra

Sandra J. Fusco-Walker
Allergy & Asthma Network
Mothers of Asthmatics
703-641-9595 x115
sfwalker@aanma.org
www.breatherville.org

*If you are represented by Congresswoman Nita Lowey or Congressman Cliff Stearns any of the following Members who have already signed on, please also call and thank them for their support.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin ((D-WI) 202-225-2906
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) 202-225-4695
Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS) 202-225-6601
Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) 202-225-4165
Rep. Ruben Hinjosa (D-TX) 202-225-2531
Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) 202-225-6636 Rep. Steve Kagen (D-WI) 202-225-5665 Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) 202-225-4911 Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) 202-225-7944 Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) 2020-225-5516 Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) 202-225-6101 Rep. Christopher Murphy (D-CT) 202-225-4476 Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) 202-225-3436 Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) 202-225-2111