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News Releases
Missouri Honors MARRTC Health Care Professionals
Columbia, Mo. (Oct. 22, 2001) - Two Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC) health care professionals were honored this summer by Missouri state organizations.
Marilee Bomar, R.N., M.S. and Kim Miller, members of the MARRTC Dissemination Project, were awarded Certificates of Appreciation from the Missouri Arthritis Advisory Board on June 7, 2001.
The Missouri Arthritis Advisory Board is an all-volunteer organization that guides the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services’ Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program.
Bomar and Miller were honored for their efforts to persuade lawmakers to reinstate funds cut from the Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program and to pass a bill establishing a state lupus program.
They met success on both counts.
Lawmakers reinstated a funding cut of $110,075 to the state arthritis program. The proposed cut was due to a loss of federal funding to Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services. The cut would have slashed the budget of the Missouri Arthritis Osteoporosis Program by roughly one third.
A state lupus program has been approved by lawmakers and the governor; although funding has not been allocated yet.
Lupus, or systemic lupus erythematosus, is of more than 100 diseases under the umbrella term arthritis. A serious autoimmune disease, it affects about 50 out of 100,000 people - or about 1.5 million Americans, according to figures from the American College of Rheumatology.
Legislation passed would establish a statewide lupus program to:
- Track and monitor the prevalence of lupus throughout the state
- Identify medical professionals and providers that are knowledgeable or specialize in the treatment of lupus and related diseases or illnesses
- Promote lupus research and public awareness through collaborations with academic partners, and local boards through out the state.
Bomar and Miller Efforts
Bomar and Miller worked to inform the public and legislators about the services offered by the state arthritis and osteoporosis program and the need for a state lupus program.
The state arthritis program oversees seven Regional Arthritis Centers. The centers offer community-based, public health services including self-help and exercise classes and support groups to help Missourians cope with arthritis. Newly released figures show that roughly one out of every three Missourians has arthritis.
Bomar is the associate director of the Central Missouri Regional Arthritis Center, which serves 24 counties in mid-Missouri.
The state arthritis program also includes a Juvenile Arthritis Care Coordinator Program.
Through this program, five juvenile arthritis care coordinators offer outreach and assistance to children with arthritis and their families. Estimates indicate that about 4,000 children in Missouri with juvenile arthritis
Miller is the juvenile arthritis care coordinator serving 24 mid-Missouri counties.
Heads of Regional Arthritis Centers Honored
Bomar and the heads of the other six state Regional Arthritis Centers were also honored with Certificates of Appreciation from the Missouri Arthritis Advisory Board and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
The seven RAC leaders were honored for their efforts in support of the state arthritis program. The RAC leaders rallied local participants of their community-based arthritis programs, asking them to visit and call their legislators in support of the Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program.
Their efforts were rewarded with the reinstatement of funds for the program - and the Certificates awarded at the state meeting of the Missouri Arthritis Advisory Board in June.
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