Advocate addresses American College of Rheumatology annual meeting

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR), founded in 1934, is a non-profit global medical society comprising over 8,500 physicians, health professionals and scientists across 87 countries, committed to advancing the specialty of Rheumatology and improving the care of patients with rheumatic diseases. 

The College’s annual meeting, held between October and November, is the marquee event which brings together Rheumatologists from around the world, with attendance ranging between 15, 000 – 16, 000. 

The 2022 Philadelphia meeting was opened on November 10 with the second Global Rheumatology Summit, a productive outreach and collaboration focused on highlighting the state of the field outside the United States. Barbados was represented formidably by Shelley Weir, founder and president of the Hope Foundation, the Lupus advocacy NGO established in 1991. 

Speaking under the theme “Fighting for Ourselves: Lessons from the Hope Foundation” in the session entitled “Bridging Gaps in Global Access to Rheumatology Care and Medications”, Weir addressed obstacles lupus patients face in the West Indies. She also provided insightful ways in which these traditionally have been overcome. 

Her talk was extremely well received, as evidenced by the numerous questions posed during the live question and answer segment. It also demonstrated the fact that meaningful lessons from Barbados and the Caribbean can have far-reaching impacts and benefits. 

The University of the West Indies was represented at the summit by Dr. Michael Taylor, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology (Mona). As the director of the Climate Studies Group at The UWI, he was part of the keynote panel discussion on the global impacts of climate change, conflict, and migration on human health and disease. The ACR conference concluded on November 15.  (PR)