There
was a flurry of activity in early August as the homePEN community
celebrated the second annual HPN Awareness Week. Before the
event started on August 5, we had distributed
2000 buttons that read “Alive with HPN,” along with
Oley contact information. Members shared these with
friends, home care companies shared them with
clients, companies passed them out to employees.
During HPN Awareness Week, we watched the numbers soar on
the Oley Facebook page (over 13,750
people “reached”!) and YouTube channel (over 1100
viewings of Oley’s “Alive with HPN” video). Several
members were interviewed by their local media (see
below), while Oley staff joined members to visit Albany
based homecare companies. Members (from as far
away as Poland and New Zealand!) sent links to share
on Oley’s
YouTube channel. Baxter Healthcare, which helped
fund the buttons and promotional materials,
shared the “Alive with HPN” video with employees, coordinated
an HPN consumer panel presentation for employees in Chicago,
organized a “jeans” day to raise funds for Oley, and more..
We know many efforts escaped us and we appeal to you to share your
experiences with us. And if you haven’t seen the “Alive with HPN”
video on YouTube, we think it’s worth a visit to a friend’s house or the
library (if you don’t have Internet access at
home). Enjoy!Why Awareness? Awareness helps
create understanding, and understanding helps create
compassion. It helps dispel misinformation and assumptions.
When you share your stories, you help others see their own situation
better. Sometimes your stories offer hope; sometimes people just need
to know there is someone else out there like them.
During Awareness Week, we posted a daily
question on Facebook. One day we asked, “How
long have you been on HPN?” One fan wrote that
she had been on for three years. She said, “Am
amazed reading your posts. I… thought that
people couldn’t last long on it. Feel happier now.”
Your Help Needed in 2013!
- HPN Awareness Week,
August 4–10, 2013
- Feeding Tube Awareness Week
(founded by the Feeding Tube
Awareness Foundation),
February 10 –16, 2013
A photo of you or your loved one for the Oley video will help launch our efforts for 2013. Or create your own video to help people understand life with HPN or feeding tubes. Consider planning an activity, circulating a press release, posting on Facebook, organizing a fund-raiser, etc. We can help! We’ll start immediately on the video for Feeding Tube Awareness, so please send a photo or contact Lisa Metzger now, (800) 776-6539 or metzgel@mail.amc.edu.
Oley
Video
Medical Technology Helps Simi Valley Boy
Local Girls Family Finds Support From Oley Foundation
Academic Spotlight: Tim Weaver earns Kyle R. Noble Scholarship
Albany Nonprofit Offers Nutrition Lifeline (9/17/12)
updated 10/11/12