The Association for Women in Rheumatology (AWIR) recently held its 2024 Annual Meeting in Orlando. AWIR once again graciously invited the ACR to exhibit and participate in the meeting. As this relationship continues to grow each year, AWIR and the ACR are working together to build a sustainable and inclusive rheumatology community for the future.
A Joint Mission
AWIR is the leading voice for women in the rheumatology community, with a primary goal of supporting the advancement and education of women in the field. The ACR and others in the rheumatology community share this goal, and we are pleased to be able to collaborate in many ways.
The ACR and AWIR routinely engage in joint advocacy and coalition work through groups including the Voice of Rheumatology coalition and the Alliance for Transparent and Affordable Prescriptions. We have worked together on several issues confronting the rheumatology community, including utilization management reform, pharmacy benefit manager reform and addressing underwater biosimilars.
Advocacy
Advocacy has always been a key component of AWIR’s mission, which is prominently displayed during the advocacy session at the conference. This year, the panel featured two advocacy all-stars, Gwenesta Melton, MD, and Stephanie Ott, MD. Joining them on stage were Paige Colston, ACR’s manager of grassroots engagement and RheumPAC, as well as Kevin Daley and Eleni Valanos from Hart Health Strategies. The panel discussed recent developments at the state and federal levels that are impacting rheumatologists across the country.
The panel also emphasized the importance of donating to RheumPAC, the only federal political action committee specific to rheumatology. RheumPAC plays a key role in amplifying the voice of rheumatology on Capitol Hill and beyond. AWIR has always been an enthusiastic supporter of RheumPAC and raised $5,000 from attendees at this year’s annual meeting.
Highlighting Leaders
In addition to covering rheumatology policy, the advocacy session offered the opportunity to reflect on the value of leaders. Dr. Melton and Dr. Ott have been heavily involved in AWIR, their state societies and the ACR for years. Both are volunteer leaders in the truest sense, working tirelessly in their spare time for the betterment of the rheumatology profession and their patients.
These leaders deserve recognition and praise. But they also deserve something more: for the next generation of rheumatologists to get involved and carry the flame that they, and others like them, have carried tirelessly for years.
If you have not been involved in advocacy before, I encourage you to explore the AWIR Advocacy Toolkit that Dr. Melton and Dr. Ott helped create. This is a good place to begin your advocacy journey. Now it is up to you, and I will leave you with a quote from that toolkit, by Jane Goodall: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Joseph Cantrell, JD, is the director of state affairs and community relations for the ACR.
