Foundation Update

First, I would like to thank everyone who supported the NLA’s 10th Anniversary President’s Gala, which raised almost $10,000 for the Foundation and was our largest fundraiser to-date. More than 200 NLA members and guests attended the gala during the Annual Scientific Sessions this past May in Scottsdale, Arizona, where entertainment was provided by Alan Brown, MD, and his band This End Up. We had a great time supporting a tremendous organization and I thank all of you for your support.

In addition, I would like to thank the sustaining and individual donors who have made almost $24,000 in contributions to the Foundation since January. As the holiday season draws near, please remember us in your year-end contributions. To donate, visit us online at lipidfoundation.org.

In May 2012, the NLA Board of Directors approved a recommendation by the NLA Membership Committee to establish and fund a fellowship/training program by offering a Lifetime Membership option to members. To qualify for Lifetime Membership, one would need to have maintained membership in the NLA for five or more years, and then would be eligible to pay the $1,500 Lifetime Membership fee. Proceeds from the fee would be distributed between the Foundation and the NLA, with $1,000 of the fee going to the Foundation to fund the fellowship/training program fund. Lifetime Membership will become available in 2013.

In addition, The International Guidelines Center published an FH Pocket Guide in May 2012 based on the NLA’s FH recommendations from 2011. This concise guide is especially helpful to healthcare providers working outside of the field of Clinical Lipidology and who may need a quick reference for diagnosing and treating patients with FH. More than 1,900 copies of the FH Pocket Guide have been sold.

Sharecare.com, a consumer-friendly website that provides a “roundtable” of expert answers to patient questions, has invited the Foundation and the NLA to join as partner organizations, and our first group of representatives will begin answering patient questions in late September. Our involvement with Sharecare is overseen by the NLA Communications Committee, chaired by James Underberg, MD, and Robert Wild, MD, PhD. Please take a few minutes to visit the Sharecare website and refer it to your patients as a consumerfriendly resource.

Finally, I would like to call your attention to a new non-profit organization developed to raise awareness of FH through education, advocacy, and research and also to establish a patient registry. The FH Foundation is led by patients with FH and by clinicians dedicated to treating them. This organization’s development is seen as a great complement to the Foundation of the NLA and its goals of reaching Americans with information about and solutions for managing FH. For details about the FH Foundation, please visit their website at theFHfoundation.com.