CFLC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nick Lombardi, Cystic Fibrosis Learning Center nlombardi@cflearningcenter.com (609) 630-6216

Cystic Fibrosis Experts, Healthcare Professionals, and Families Collaborate at Landmark Conference

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (April 17, 2010) - The inaugural Cystic Fibrosis Learning Center (CFLC) Continuum of Care Conference was held April 15 through April 17 with almost 200 cystic fibrosis (CF) healthcare professionals, family members, and healthcare industry personnel participating in 2.5 days of education and networking within the CF community.

This unique conference offered 2 concurrent educational tracks—presented by clinical experts and noted CF advocates—for both healthcare professionals and CF family members. A reception dinner featuring keynote addresses by C. Richard Mattingly, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and James R. Yankaskas, MD, Co-Director of the University of North Carolina Adult Cystic Fibrosis Center and Conference Chairman, launched the event, followed by 2 full days of interactive educational sessions, product spotlights, and exhibitions, a format that many participants found to be ideal. Jane Braverman, PhD, Vice President of Clinical Services for RespirTech, Inc., called the experience, “…a model of what the ideal conference should encompass—speakers of the highest quality, presentations arranged in a logical sequence, marvelous food, [and] ample time to have real conversations with all.”

The educational sessions presented at the CFLC Continuum of Care Conference were specifically designed by an expert Advisory Board to target the most pressing issues facing all members of the CF healthcare team—pulmonologists, nurses, nurse practitioners, registered dietitians, respiratory therapists, and social workers—and family and friends involved in CF care on the home front.

Infection control, lung transplantation, bone and gastrointestinal complications, and transition to adult care were among the focused topics in the healthcare track. Advisory Board member Dr. Craig Lapin, Director of the Central Connecticut Children’s Cystic Fibrosis Center, called the conference a “landmark” event and noted that healthcare professionals in attendance were provided with updates on “state-of-the-art care and status of research in cystic fibrosis.” Dr. Yankaskas reiterated the clinical benefit of the event, “Speakers presented the newest research and care data, and the conference advanced the patient and family involvement goals of the CF Foundation and its Quality Improvement Initiatives.”

Healthcare professionals and CF advocates addressed a variety of topics with family members, including diagnosis, complications, germ avoidance, scheduling of airway treatments, and patient rights. Christina Skretkowicz—whose son, Nathan, has CF—was enthusiastic about the information provided to attendees, noting, “The conference was invaluable…we have learned more in the past couple of days than we have since Nathan’s diagnosis 19 months ago.”

A conference designed to foster networking between professionals and families is unprecedented in the CF community. Expert clinical faculty and families interacted at social events and during educational sessions, and many industry companies supported the conference, providing the opportunity for Cystic Fibrosis Learning Center attendees to ask questions and receive updated information on current CF products and treatment options. Nick Lombardi, Cofounder of the Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Foundation and Vice President, Grant Development for the conference sponsor, North American Center for Continuing Medical Education (NACCME), commented on the significance of the conference, “The CFLC conference allowed healthcare professionals to learn from experts in their field and provided family members with the opportunity to meet some of the top CF healthcare professionals in an informal setting. Attendee feedback from the 2010 conference was very positive. NACCME now has the task of exceeding expectations for the 2011 conference—we are looking forward to the challenge.”

The CFLC Continuum of Care Conference is sponsored by the North American Center for Continuing Medical Education, LLC (NACCME), a medical education company committed to developing and disseminating live, print, and web-based CME/CE activities of the highest quality targeted across the spectrum of healthcare practitioners.

The CFLC, a division of NACCME, is designed exclusively to provide evidence-based education on the diagnosis and management of CF across the continuum of patient care. CFLC works with clinical experts to develop practical content based on the latest published and presented data on the screening, diagnosis, and management of CF and its comorbid conditions, to incorporate that content into multifaceted, interactive CME/CE programming, and address ongoing educational needs in the CF community.

The second CFLC Continuum of Care Conference will take place in April 2011. For more information and conference updates, please contact Nick Lombardi at (609) 630-6216, nlombardi@cflearningcenter.com, or visit the CFLC website at www.cflearningcenter.com.