Letter from MassME President, Susan Buckley
December already! As we head (hurtle?) toward the end of 2024, here's a quick summary of the work of our organization.
This year we helped over 180 people who contacted our Patient Services team, providing physician referrals, disability counseling, help accessing services, and sometimes just a shoulder to lean on. In addition to that direct individual contact, our support groups provided a place for mutual encouragement and exchange for over 200 people.
We continue to provide crucial and timely information to our community, and to increase our reach. This monthly newsletter reaches people in 13 countries, and the videos on our YouTube channel have had almost 120,000 views.
Over the last three years our remarkable Sunday Conversations team have produced an event almost every month that makes critical information easily available to those who need it. If you missed the series they presented this year on common comorbidities of ME, I highly recommend you find these on the Sunday Conversations section of our YouTube channel. You can read more below about a new cadence and slightly different mix of programming for our Sunday Conversations.
We were excited to co-host a medical education program at UMass Chan Medical School in October. And in our advocacy efforts we are working with the Massachusetts legislature and the Department of Public Health to establish or improve services that support people with ME, Long COVID, and other IACCIs.
We have also been madly busy behind the scenes with some infrastructure projects that will help sustain our organization and move us forward in the future. Our redesigned and updated website is close to launching, and a database overhaul will improve our communications with you.
The work of this organization arises from and takes inspiration from you and all those who live with ME and other IACCIs. May we all use our resources as mindfully and share as generously. I wish everyone a peaceful holiday season, and look forward to moving into 2025 together with a renewed commitment to our shared community.
Susan Buckley |