Living Better Together COPD Week

 

Join us this November for another Living better Together COPD education week from November 14-November 18, 2022. These events are designed to support people living with COPD, their caregivers, and family members.
  • Register for the upcoming webinar, COPD and Gas Stoves, featuring Zach Williams, MPH from Physicians for Social Responsibility.
  • Register for the upcoming webinar, An Update on COPD Medications, featuring Lori Wilken, PharmD from UIC.
  • Download our new fact sheets from our library.
  • We want to hear from you! Submit an essay, poem, or brief short story about your experience with COPD. You can email your submission to Hannah at hmestyanek@resphealth.org or mail it to:

Respiratory Health Association
Attn: Living Better Together Education Week 
1440 W Washington Blvd
Chicago, IL 60607 

 

In October 2022, RHA participated in a national webinar, “Caregiving and COPD: A webinar from NHLBI’s Learn More Breathe Better® Program.” RHA joined the National Institute on Aging and NHLBI to discuss the importance of caregivers for people living with chronic diseases like COPD. Over 70% of patients living with COPD are supported by informal family caregivers. RHA created the COPD Caregiver’s Toolkit to support caregivers in their caregiving journey.

Watch the on-demand recording, which features RHA President and CEO, Joel Africk:

2022 Conference Sponsors

2021 Living Better Together COPD Week

Last year, we hosted a week-long series to help people living with COPD, their caregivers, and families, featuring

Inspiration COPD Newsletter – Special Edition
Inspiration contains practical tips for living well, the latest in COPD research, and legislative updates that may affect your life.

Download the issue here.

Want to receive our latest COPD email updates, including details about COPD week? Sign-up today.

Living Better with COPD: A Guide for You

This new resource provides people living with COPD, their caregivers, and family a quick reference guide to COPD. Within it you will find useful information about COPD, how to manage the disease, and tips for living better with COPD. While we hope this information is helpful, it is not meant to take the place of medical advice. Please be sure to contact your doctor or healthcare team before starting or adding any new activities listed in this packet to your care plan. Remember to share this packet with your caregiver so you can both live better with COPD!

Download now

 

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and affects millions of people. Our goal is to empower people living with COPD, their families, and caregivers to be their own disease self-managers. We hope that you find something useful that helps ease the burden of COPD!

 

COPD Education Videos

Leading experts in COPD  present on a variety of topics for people living with COPD, their caregivers, and families. You can view the video series below!

Pulmonary Rehab at Home

Join Gail Harris for a quick exercise routine you can do from home. You can expect a warm-up, strength training, chair exercises, and a guided meditation at the end of the session. Gail is a registered respiratory therapist and a certified pulmonary function technician at The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, IL. She has worked in respiratory health for over 30 years. Gail has helped develop three other pulmonary rehab programs and has her own exercise video, “Exercise for Couch Potatoes.”

Thank you to Integrated Respiratory Solutions for sponsoring this video.

 

Self-care for Caregivers

Dr. Harvey Wolf speaks about the importance of caring for COPD caregivers and how caregivers can practice self-care. Dr. Wolf is a licensed clinical health psychologist at Northwest Community Hospital. For over thirty years his practice has focused on the care of individuals, families, and healthcare workers living with chronic illnesses like COPD.

COPD and Sleep – What You Need to Know

Dr. James Herdegen covers the relationship between COPD and sleep, provides a sleep disorders overview, and also shares tips for better sleeping. Dr. Herdegen is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Director of Sleep Disorders Service and Research at Rush University Medical Center.

COPD Conversations: Q&A with Dr. Gates

Dr. Khalilah Gates, a practicing pulmonologist from Northwestern University, shares her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected people living with COPD. She also talks about what we have learned about the relationship between COPD and COVID-19, the best prevention tips, and what you need to know about the vaccine and boosters.

Watch the video now

 

 


Past COPD Education Recordings

Did you have a chance to see our Living Better Together Webinar series? These videos address important topics and updates for people living with COPD and their caregivers.

Supplemental Oxygen at Home
Dr. Jerry Krishnan discusses what supplemental oxygen is, the benefits of using supplemental oxygen, and how to know when it’s time to start or stop using home oxygen.

Watch Now

 

Current COPD Medications
Managing symptoms and slowing down any damage to lungs is important since there is currently no cure for COPD. In this webinar, we discuss the different types of COPD medications and answer questions.

Watch Now

 

COPD and Common Comorbidities
Comorbidities, or having more than one condition at the same time, can occur in patients with mild, moderate, or severe COPD. In this webinar, Dr. Paul Reyfman discussed some of the most common conditions that can develop for people living with COPD and the impact they may have.

Watch Now

Planning Committee

You can help shape our Living Better Together COPD Conference by joining the Planning Committee. The group meets by phone to provide ideas and input to the RHA staff members. Contact Hannah Mestyanek, Sr. Program Coordinator, via email at hmestyanek@resphealth.org to learn more.

Thank you to all who attended the 2019 Living Better Together COPD Conference. View photos from the 2019 event on our Flickr. You can also look back at last year’s events with the information and links below.