

We are here to serve…
Our support group network has grown to more than 200 groups throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. PHA coordinates the work of nearly 300 leaders – patients and caregivers who are managing their health, their families and their lives – who also volunteer to run patient support group meetings. The Support Group Leadership Training Institute, endowed by United Therapeutics has enabled us to connect these busy leaders in meaningful ways including, but not limited to, providing web-based and telephone trainings.
Meeting in a Minute: Insurance 101
Part 2 on CTEPH Meeting in a Minute coming soon!
Support Group Leader Stays Strong Through Faith and Family
Gwendolyn Brown has lived with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) for more than 40 years. She has survived a heart attack, three strokes and 11 mini strokes. She leads the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA)’s Cleveland Community Support Group and is a minister at Zion Pentecostal Church of Christ.
Support Group Leader Inspired by Predecessor
I am proud to help PH community members who feel alone in this fight and to educate them. PH can be a lot to take in, and that's what the group is here to help with.
Why I Volunteer as an Email PHriend
Krista Cummings, of Richmond, Virginia, remembers her fear and feelings of helpless after her 2009 idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension diagnosis. So she volunteers as a Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) support group leader and Email PHriend.
Get Social! Join a PHA Facebook Group
Essential social support during the COVID-19 pandemic is possible thanks to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA)’s eight Facebook groups. Pam Kehoe of Wisconsin, who joined the CTEPH group after her diagnosis, shares how the group provides her with a supportive space to exchange stories, news and concerns.
Gaining Inspiration and Energy from Support Group Members
By Alicia Kubes Being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH) in February 2018 and starting intravenous therapy was a complete shock. I had no idea this disease existed and that there were people out there
Support Group Leader ‘Couldn’t Believe There Were Others Like Me’
By Colleen Schnell Colleen Schnell I was born in Niagara Falls, N.Y., in September 1975. When I was 9 months old, I was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect. By that
Volunteer Spotlight: Raising Awareness for Scleroderma and PH
By Karen Fragale I live in Johnston, Iowa, which is just outside of Des Moines. I have two children, Christopher, 31, and Stephanie, 28. Christopher, who works in finance, is engaged and planning a
Texas Support Group Leader Aims to Empower, Give Hope
Estella Medina is a Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) support group leader from El Paso, Texas. She shares her pulmonary hypertension (PH) journey from diagnosis to volunteerism. By Estella Medina I was a medical assistant
Discover This Support Group Leader’s Passion for Helping Others
Tara Suplicki decided to start volunteering when she learned she had pulmonary hypertension (PH). Today, she leads the Morristown, New Jersey, Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) support group with Patrick Mellin. Tara describes how she
Volunteer Spotlight: New South Dakota Support Group Launches
When Jeri Nudell was at the Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s (PHA’s) International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions in Orlando in 2018, she met an inspiring fellow attendee. In their long conversation, Charlotte Gilbert told Jeri