John W. Walsh, president of the COPD Foundation, will give the keynote address at the 53rd International Respiratory Congress of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) Dec. 1 in Orlando, FL.
Walsh and the COPD Foundation have been involved as key partners with the AARC and other organizations by implementing awareness campaigns such as sending mobile spirometry units (MSU) all over the United States, to health fairs, fitness expositions and other events, offering free spirometry to encourage early diagnosis of those at risk for COPD and to inform them about Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
Walsh recently lobbied Congress with Grace Anne Dorney Koppel, a patient advocate for the "Learn More, Breathe Better" campaign, and AARC Executive Director Sam Giordano, urging that pulmonary rehabilitation be established as a Medicare benefit.
Well-known as an inspirational and motivational patient speaker, Walsh has COPD related to Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, the most common known genetic risk factor for COPD. Diagnosed with Alpha-1 in 1989, he is also the co-founder, President and CEO of the Alpha-1 Foundation in Miami. He regularly testifies before Congress and advisory groups as a patient advocate.
