Dear friends,

I’m pleased to announce that registration opens Friday for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) PH Professional Network Symposium. PHA looks forward to welcoming health care professionals to Arlington, Virginia, Sept. 28-30, for this invaluable opportunity to learn the latest science about pulmonary hypertension (PH).

We’re particularly excited because this is the first time since 2019 that our PHPN Symposium will take place in person. We understand that not everyone can participate in person, so we’re also offering an online option. As you may remember, PHPN Symposium was online in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Until the pandemic, PH professionals gathered every two years in the Washington, D.C., area for this continuing education and networking event. Traditionally, attendees have included hundreds of providers who care for people with PH, such as nurses, respiratory therapists, doctors, pharmacists and trainees.

The PH professionals who attend Symposium gain knowledge and resources to better care for their patients and take ideas and inspiration back to their clinics and colleagues. Ultimately, people with PH benefit most from this knowledge.

That’s truer than ever with this year’s speaker line-up. We’re particularly proud to host Marc Humbert, M.D., Ph.D., the primary author of new recommendations for PH diagnosis and treatment.

Dr. Humbert’s session is expected to be widely attended. The guidelines, developed by a European Society of Cardiology and European Respiratory Society taskforce and published last August, will affect PH care around the world for years to come.

Dr. Humbert, the director of respiratory and intensive care at the French Pulmonary Hypertension Reference Centre, will explain how new hemodynamic definitions of PH and pulmonary arterial hypertension could lead to earlier detection. Don’t miss your opportunity to hear about updated diagnostic algorithms and recommended testing straight from the source.

This year’s Symposium also will focus on wellness and mental health, a timely topic as professionals and patients alike continue to face pandemic burnout. Joan Cain, M.S., FNP-BC, ACHPN, and Jeffrey Lauzon, M.A., Ph.D., will draw attention to provider fatigue and patient reaction related to traumatic events.

As always, Symposium attendees will learn tips to advocate for their patients. For the first time since 2019, attendees will return to Capitol Hill for PHPN Advocacy Day. The Sept. 28 event is a fitting opening to Symposium, as health care professionals bring their unique perspectives and patient concerns to Congress.

This year, it’s more important than ever to participate in Advocacy Day, as we have the opportunity to educate more than 80 new lawmakers about PH and treatment-access challenges that threaten the health and wellbeing of the PH community.

Another new feature this year is Drag Bingo, featuring the popular D.C.-area performer Tara Hoot. In the past, we’ve raised money for scholarships to attend PHA’s biennial PH International Conference and Scientific Sessions through PHPN Trivia Night. This year, we hope to raise even more money for PHA 2024 scholarships through this funny, cheeky, musical bingo night.

We look forward to seeing our health care professionals for another inspirational, engaging and educational event. Don’t miss this year’s PHPN Symposium, whether you join us in Alexandria, Virginia, or online.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

With gratitude and respect,