COVID-19 Updates with PHA’s Task Force

Members of PHA’s COVID-19 Task Force discuss COVID-19 vaccines, virus variants, current safety recommendations and more. Michele Freeman, M.S., NCC, LPC, Mardi Gomberg, M.D., Fran Rogers, M.S.N., CRNP, and Thenappan Thenappan, M.D., provide insight on the latest information about COVID-19 and answer questions from the pulmonary hypertension (PH) community.

About the Speakers

Michele Freeman, M.S., NCC, LPC
Michele is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in working with individuals with chronic illness. She is the PHA support group leader for Central Oregon and the host of the PHA Caregiver Telephone Support Group. Michelle is also a caregiver for her husband who has pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Mardi Gomberg-Maitland, M.D., M.Sc
Mardi Gomberg-Maitland, M.D., M.Sc., is a cardiologist and professor of medicine at The GW University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. She also serves as the medical director of The GW Medical Faculty Associates. She has built a comprehensive management program including outpatient and inpatient diagnosis and treatment, noninvasive and invasive testing and state of the art pulmonary hypertension medication options.

Thenappan Thenappan, M.D.
Thenappan Thenappan, M.D., is a cardiologist at the University of Minnesota Health Heart Care — Minneapolis in the Clinics and Surgery Center. Additionally, he is an associate professor of medicine at the cardiovascular division of the University of Minnesota Medical School, a clinical research scholar interested in translational research in pulmonary vascular disease and a published author. He recently authored the article “Pulmonary Hypertension Due to Left Heart Disease—Combine or Not Combined? DPG In or Out? A Practical Approach to the Patient With Suspected Left Heart Disease” in Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension: 2019, Vol. 18, No. 3.

PHA thanks Bayer for its Platinum Sponsorship and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for its Diamond Sponsorship of the PHA Connects fund, which provides support to this PHA Live event.