Notes from the Exec...
This is a celebration - and an anniversary of sorts. Two years
ago this month we mailed the last issue of the Epiletter. Loss of a
major funding source of more than $80,000 per year required us to
suspend its publication, the primary means of communicating with
our constituency and donors. We hope that you have missed us.
Through a generous contribution by GlaxoSmithKline, we
received a competitive grant allowing us to print two issues of the
Epiletter. We are optimistic that friends like you will see the value
of an epilepsy publication for Idaho and "subscribe" in order to
assure its continuation. If each reader contributes $5, the Epiletter will go beyond the December issue.
Every cost-savings device possible has been implemented and,
through the efforts of extraordinary volunteers and a highly
dedicated and professional staff, service to people with seizure
disorders and their families continues throughout the state.
An illustration of some of our activities is in order. Through
Epilepsy Foundation national working in partnership with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote
public education/awareness and improve acceptance of people with
epilepsy, we have applied for and been awarded three grants to pilot
community-based programs. The first was a program targeting high
school teens in an multi-year effort to get an epilepsy unit
incorporated into school systems' health education curricula
nationwide. Kim Huender in the Coeur d'Alene office began the
Seizures and You: Take Charge of the Facts program last year
and expanded it to several North Idaho schools this year.
Loralee Anderson in the Idaho Falls office conducted the pilot
School Nurse Training Program in July. It was highly successful
and we hope to be able to expand it state-wide next year. The third
pilot, You Are Not Alone: Parenting Your Teen with Epilepsy will soon be launched by Patricia McDaniel in Boise. More
information will be found elsewhere in this issue of the Epiletter.
Through a very generous grant from UCB Pharma with EF
national, EFI hosted a Day of HOPE conference April 29 at St.
Luke's Regional Medical Center. One hundred fourteen
consumers and family members from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming,
and Nevada heard HOPE mentors and professionals speak about
medical aspects and managing day-to-day issues associated with
epilepsy.
We have had our struggles as have many of you but you can see
that we persevere and are even thriving. With your help and
support, our 35th year of service in Idaho will be the best yet. - David C. Blackwell
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