Report from the 2019 American College of Rheumatology’s Annual Conference

Dear Friends & Colleagues,

I’m pleased to report that Autoimmune Association was highly visible and received much acclaim at the 2019 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in Atlanta. We hosted the debut of the Let My Doctors Decide (LMDD) Escape the System: Stop the Madness of Step Therapy. We gained a lot of valuable data from doctors, patients, health care professionals who experienced Escape the System and endorsed our principles, signed our petition, and opted-in to joining Autoimmune Association and its LMDD partners to breakdown step therapy barriers preventing patients and physicians from getting the medicines they need.

I could not be more thankful for the amazing support of Board Member Lilly Stairs, who joined me in Atlanta to launch Escape the System, meet with current and potential funders and partners to continue our mission, and in every way possible engage others in AARDA’s message, mission, impact, and growth. She has been an amazing ambassador for Autoimmune Association and an effective advocate for people living with autoimmune disease and our cause! Thank you Lilly!

Check out our message here and visit the LMDD website for a full picture of the past few days.  Here is a link to our closing & thank you video featuring Lilly and myself:

Thank you to Board Members Mike Linn and Dave Bammert, the Autoimmune Association team, and the hundreds of AARDA’s friends and supporters who made this ACR conference a breakthrough event in AARDA’s path to greater impact and growth. I appreciate the support of each of you, as I approach six weeks in this new CEO role.

All my best,

Randy