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n. The act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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SAA is the only non-profit organization in the United States dedicating its resources to the active support of spondylitis patients to bring about awareness, education, and research to ensure a better life for all spondylitis patients.
Priorities
- Promoting earlier diagnosis and treatment of spondyloarthritis
- Promoting public awareness and education about spondyloarthritis
- Improving access to appropriate quality health care and medications for all spondyloarthritis patients
- Increasing federal funding for arthritis research
- Affecting public policy that impacts the lives of spondyloarthritis patients
To strengthen our advocacy efforts, SAA, as a member of the National Health Council (NHC), has joined them in their nationwide initiative to mobilize people with long-term diseases and disabilities to achieve effective and affordable health care.
The "Campaign to Put Patients First" has five goals:
- Get healthcare coverage for all patients who desire it
- Curb costs responsibly
- Make sure everyone has access to coverage even if they have preexisting conditions
- Get rid of lifetime caps that limit the total amount of benefits provided by health insurance
- Respect people at the end of life
To join the Campaign to Put Patients
First, click here.
SAA is also a member of the National Institutes of Health's NIAMS Coalition. In fact, SAA's Executive Director, Laurie M. Savage, now serves on the NIAMS’ Coalition Steering Committee in D.C.
The NIAMS Coalition is made up of nearly 60 voluntary and professional associations concerned with the programs of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). The NIAMS mandate is broad: it leads the Federal effort on research into the basic understanding, causes, incidence, treatment and prevention of diseases of bone, joints, muscle, skin and connective tissues.
Each year the NIAMS Coalition visits Washington, DC congressional offices to showcase broad support for NIAMS initiatives and instruct Congress about the research opportunities and findings related to diseases and disorders of the joints, muscles, bones, and skin. The NIAMS Coalition message emphasizes that these diseases and disorders are among the most frequently occurring chronic conditions afflicting American families.
SAA has been a member of the NIAMS Coalition since the mid 1990s, and assumes responsibility for advocacy efforts on behalf of those affected by spondyloarthritis.
SAA's partnership with the NIH through the NIAMS Coalition led to the formation of the NASC Genetic Study which uncovered regions on seven chromosomes indicated in the susceptibility to AS. The next stage of this important work, the TASC Genetic Study is underway and has already discovered numerous genes associated with AS.
Join SAA in being an advocate for people living with spondylitis. Together, we can work to increase public awareness, improve access to health care, increase federal funding in research to cure spondyloarthritis, and affect public policy decisions that impact the spondylitis community. To learn more about the different ways you can get involved as an advocate, visit Tools For The Advocate and Get Involved: Be an Advocate.
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