Providing patient services to persons suffering from Systemic Lupus Erythematous, raise public awareness through community outreach programs, providing funds for medical research and providing advocacy of patient's rights and needs.

Impact Summary from the Nonprofit At the Lupus Foundation of Pennsylvania we work in collaboration with a National Coalition, the Lupus Research Institute (LRI). This provides us with the opportunity to work at both a national and local level on programs of importance to the Lupus Community. Over the past two years, along with the Coalition, the foundation has launched two programs focusing on lupus patients as well as an education program for the medical, nursing and health professions. During the past year we have worked to implement these initiatives on a local level in Pittsburgh. These programs include: Pediatric Lupus Initiative: allows us to work with Children�s Hospital to provide awareness, education and monitor both current treatments and ongoing research in the field of pediatric lupus. Researching pediatric lupus could possibly lead to identifying genetic and biologic markers of the disease. The Lupus Initiative: new educational initiatives for healthcare providers are desperately needed to eliminate numerous barriers to early diagnosis of lupus. This program is tailored for medical, nursing and health professional students with the main goal being that lupus education will become more common in medical school curricula. When more medical professionals are properly informed about lupus, they will be able to teach patients how to manage and cope with lupus, control morbidity and mortality, and provide the best opportunity for improving quality of life for patients. Women�s and Minority Health Issues: an awareness program created by the Office of Women�s Health, the aim of this program is to reach minority communities with an emphasis on women. This program is of vital importance as lupus disproportionately affects women and African American women in particular. This ties in with the previous initiative, as having better-informed medical professionals will lead to a decrease in disparities in lupus based on race, ethnicity and gender. We are currently going into our second year of working with these programs. Our goals for the next year include: continued involvement in the community through these initiatives and focusing on our fundraising to supplement our income.