A Wealth of Achievements

Jones has volunteered with the Arthritis Foundation for many years, and is particularly grateful that the organization has supported the Pediatric Rheumatology Camping Weekend, which she coordinates, as well as other programs that involve entire families. She felt humbled to win the Master Clinician Award and was honored to be recognized with other accomplished and hard-working rheumatology professionals.

Q: You coordinate the Pediatric Rheumatology Camping Weekend for the Arthritis Foundation. How does that event benefit the children and families who attend?

A: We just had our 20th year with the Camping Weekend. This sticks in my mind because I was pregnant with my son during the first event, and he just turned 20! Many children with a pediatric rheumatic disease feel isolated. The Camping Weekend gives them an opportunity to meet other kids with similar symptoms and treatments and who also have to go through the rounds of doctor visits and lab tests. It helps them lose some of that isolated feeling.

Q: Do they have a routine camping experience, with swimming, crafts, and similar activities?

A: Yes, our campers have access to all the usual camping activities, but in addition, we give them group discussion time. We think this is quite valuable because they share ideas about how to explain your disease and its treatment to your friends, how to cope with pain, and how to manage the other difficulties that come with a disease like JIA. A single weekend isn’t really enough, and we hope to be able to offer a week-long camping event soon.

ARHP Award

ARHP Master Educator Award

Marian T. Hannan, DSc, MPH

Co-director, Musculoskeletal Research Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston

Background: By the mid-1980s, Dr. Hannan had done enough work in the fields of cancer and birth defects to know that she wanted a change. She wanted to work in a disease area where she could make a contribution and a difference, and this led her to musculoskeletal disorders. For her, it was a good decision, and Dr. Hannan is the 2010 ARHP Master Educator Award winner. This award is presented annually to honor an ARHP member who has demonstrated sustained excellence in teaching of health professional students, medical students, residents, graduate students, and/or fellows, with their primary focus being rheumatology-related content. Dr. Hannan is now associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a senior scientist and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center at the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston. Her major areas of research include the epidemiology of age-related osteoporosis and arthritis, the influence of foot disorders on physical function and falls, and the impact of various risk factors, especially dietary ones, on bone loss in elderly adults.