Foundation of the NLA Update: Embarking on a New Journey

Greetings fellow NLA members, I am honored and privileged to write you as the new president of the Foundation of the National Lipid Association. The Mission of the Foundation is to improve the welfare of patients and families affected by cholesterol and triglyceride problems. The Vision of the Foundation is for informed and healthy communities empowered through awareness, education, advocacy, and equality. To accomplish this, our organization seeks to drive education and accessibility home, to win the fight of lowering risk for our patients plagued with lipid disorder. We strive to translate scientific and medical progress into effective evidence-based guidance for individuals who do not speak the language of, “Statins, Sitosterolemia, and Abetalipoproteinemia”.

As a physician who sees patients from a variety of backgrounds and education levels every day, it is essential to continue the hard groundwork the leadership of the Foundation, particularly Dr. Anne C. Goldberg, has laid down before me. In her 13 years of service, Dr. Goldberg made tremendous contributions to this organization. In Dr. Goldberg’s honor, I want to announce the development of the Anne C. Goldberg, MD, FNLA Foundation of the NLA Service Award - honoring her tireless service to the Foundation since inception. The award may be given annually for contributions by anyone in support of the Foundation’s Mission - to improve the welfare of patients and families affected by cholesterol and triglyceride problems. Awardees must be nominated by a NLA member, and the winner will be announced at the Foundation’s Gala held at the NLA Scientific Sessions every year. Please stay tuned from announcements from our organization on how/where to apply.

The Foundation Gala, held at the Scientific Sessions in Orlando in late September was a huge success. We had a great turnout with a silent auction filled with exciting items to benefit Foundation efforts, a live band, and dessert. When combining ticket sales and silent auction item purchases, the Foundation collected more than $17,000 in just one night! At this event we also had the pleasure of celebrating Elizabeth (Beth) J. Jackson, MSN, CLS, FNLA who won the Clinician/Educator Award, as she continues to demonstrate continued excellence in clinical care of patients with lipid disorders. Beth was nominated by a young patient who felt that Beth saved her life after detecting a genetic condition that took away her two sisters. The bond between patients and clinicians is astounding, and this patient went out of her way to see that Beth was recognized for her hard work.

More hard work is coming my friends, as the challenge to educate our patients struggling with lipid disorders is ever lasting. The Foundation needs to be a landing place for anyone with cholesterol and triglyceride related issues. We must continue to provide and improve upon the resources of the Foundation found through the website, learnyourlipids.com. I encourage everyone to review our website for helpful tools including basic information on lipid disorders, heart-healthy resources for patients and clinicians to improve patient outcomes and see if there is anything you can contribute to this knowledge bank. Going forward, we hope to enhance our outreach to impacted patients through webinars and education for the patient, their families, and caretakers. We hope to enhance access to Lipid Specialists certified by the American Board of Clinical Lipidology (ABCL) and Accreditation Council for Clinical Lipidology (ACCL) for impacted patients. Please continue to support our Foundation through resources sharing and fundraising activation. Your contributions allow us to continue our content development efforts, cholesterol screenings, translations, and projects supporting our patients. You can contribute today at learnyourlipids.com/donate/.

I look forward to the years ahead serving as President of the Foundation of the National Lipid Association.