A Special Message from the President

December 2012

Breath Matters continues to need your financial support. As we close the year we thought you would like to know some of our minor accomplishments including:

• Duke University recently asked our help with a lung disease study.
• We received calls from sufferers in North Carolina, Texas, and Florida. University of Virginia asked for our help with a lung disease study.
• Allergy Partners of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina sought our help.
• Local rescue squads want us to speak about pulmonary exacerbations (a frequent 911 call) and support group attendance.
• St. Mary’s Hospital Palliative Care, Richmond, wants us to be involved with their program.
• November’s and December’s attendance was in the eighties with an average of 64 per lung disease sufferers per meeting for the year.

These accomplishments occurred because people are finding us through advertising, reputation, or our website. In addition, a major accomplishment in 2012 was having Mr. Paul Fogelberg, President; Pulmonary Fibrosis Advocates (www.pfadvocates.org) of Minnetonka, MN speak at our June 11 meeting on the passage of The Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act. The passage of PFREA (s. 1350 & H.R. 2505) would:

1. EstablishaNationalPulmonaryFibrosisAdvisoryBoard.
2. Establish a Pulmonary Fibrosis database at the CDC.
3. Expand and coordinate all data by the Department of Health & Human Services.
4. Requires the Director of the CDC to develop a Pulmonary Fibrosis education and awareness plan.
5. EncouragetheNHLBItocoordinateresearchactivities.

Over half of our population at Breath Matters suffers with this disease with no medications or treatments in sight...only transplantation if you are extremely healthy and preferably under 65.

On the COPD and Asthma part of our group, if you were to ask anyone that has asthma or COPD about their inhaler, they will tell you about the difficulty of using it properly. Clinical studies by American College of Chest Physicians shows that 86% of patients use MDI incorrectly and 71% patients use DPI incorrectly as referenced by this link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21249463. Currently we are working with a software developer so that a user would compare their live inhaler use (on screen and side by side) with the proper use of their inhaler on a YouTube video. The user must have camera capability on their laptop or Ipad.

Eventually, we will have the ability to copy an individual’s use and email it to their nurse, physician, or pharmacist for approval. We have the YouTube version of one tube and disc already on our site and there are eight more to follow. These will be the exact replicas of the patient’s inhaler. In the past we have had speakers to come demonstrate proper inhaler use and it always drew a big crowd. Inhaler use is a constant concern by people saying that the neither pharmacist nor physician gives instructions.

Finances are always in the forefront of our mission with advertising our largest expense and we continue to need your help. We are delighted to offer last year’s 990N (our year-end tax form) for your perusal via email. As you consider making your donation, please bear in mind that:

• We are a CENTRAL VIRGINIA LOCAL (Richmond, VA) CHARITY.
• We have no ties to any of the BIG charities or any other charity.
• We continue to operate with ALL volunteer personnel.
• Our ties are to the community, your community and mine.

Thank you for helping us continue to meet the needs of our community. Please consider a donation. No donation is to large...or small.

Please make a check payable to and mail to:

Breath Matters
C/o Russell Glover, President
11520 Edenberry Drive
Richmond, VA 23236-4030

You can also make a donation through our website: www.breathmatters.org.

Just click on the PayPal DONATE button and use the credit card of your choice. The safest way to protect your identity

If you ever have questions of any kind pertaining to BREATH MATTERS, please do not hesitate to call me at (804) 378-0628. This is too important not to welcome your feedback. WITHOUT YOU, WE CANNOT DO THIS.

Donations can also be made in memory of a friend or loved one that lost a fight with lung disease OR IS FIGHTING LUNG DISEASE. I thank you for your generosity and kindness to BREATH MATTERS...one outstanding organization.

BREATH MATTERS is an official non-profit charity 501 (c) (3) with a website:

www.breathmatters.org

What does BREATH MATTERS DO?

• We serve the patients, as well as the caregivers, by educating them on respiratory-related topics.
• We encourage the patient and the caregiver to improve the quality of the patient’s life.
• We work at enhancing the patient’s knowledge of all respiratory diseases.
• We promote involvement in the community through awareness.
• We are grateful to have the support of outstanding organizations such as CJW Chippenham Hospital, health care businesses, United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Pulmonary Rehab at Chippenham Hospital, VCU Medical Center, the VA Hospital, the UVA Transplant Team, COPD.org, Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, and many others.

BREATH MATTERS is open to anyone with lung disease, his or her caregiver, or family member. We distribute information from Federal, state, local and private agencies in order to help the patient control, manage, and take charge of their medical condition (s). We do this by inviting speakers from all health care arenas—medicine, nursing, Chippenham Pulmonary Rehab, Walgreen's Pharmacy, hospice, yoga (breathing techniques), musical instrument therapy, such as the harmonica. Most importantly, WE ARE A LOCAL (Richmond, VA) CHARITY. We have no ties to any of the BIG charities or any other charity. Our ties are to the community, your community and mine.

We are an integral part of the local network dedicated to pulmonary problems. We are getting ourselves known through delivering the word to everyone that we can. There are no paid employees. We are ALL V O L U N T E E R S!

At the end of the day, we cannot go forward without some charitable funding. Therefore, I ask that you kindly consider sending a donation---no donation is too small—in order that we might spread the word and, at the same time, serve the members of the pulmonary community who are suffering from serious lung diseases. Our neighbors need us and our community needs us.

Thank you for taking your time to read this.

Sincerely,

Sincerely,

Russell Glover,
President Breath Matters

Office: 804.378.0628
Cell: 804.387.9015
Fax: 804.858.3925
russellglover@verizon.net

How can you help? Please donate. Yes, I am asking you to help me to give the education and medical support to the folks in our community. Please?

Remember that NO donation is TOO SMALL.

If you ever have questions of any kind pertaining to BREATH MATTERS, please do not hesitate to call me at (804) 378-0628. This is too important not to welcome your feedback. WITHOUT YOU, WE CANNOT DO THIS.

Donations can also be made in memory of a friend or loved one that lost a fight with lung disease OR IS FIGHTING LUNG DISEASE. I thank you for your generosity and kindness to BREATH MATTERS…one outstanding organization.

A financial statement about BREATH MATTERS is available upon written request from:

Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of Consumer Affairs
P. O. Box 1163
Richmond, VA 23218

Questions? Call the Facilitator, Russell Glover (804) 378.0628. (See our IRS 501(c)(3) status info here.)