Highlights from the 10th Annual National Gathering Conference

What a wonderful weekend! The 10th annual National Gathering Conference was held last weekend June 9-11 in Kansas City and what a weekend it was! This year’s conference was particularly special – we celebrated 10 amazing years of this wonderful Gathering which was reflected in the conference theme “10 Years & Growing,” and throughout the conference.

The Gathering was created for adults living with arthritis and rheumatic diseases to gather together and learn from healthcare and patient experts how to live their best life. We all know living with arthritis is difficult, but at the Gathering we learn together how to combat life’s daily challenges.

One of the big highlights of the weekend was Saturday morning’s session featuring keynote speaker, actorClark Middleton. Clark has been living with juvenile arthritis since age 4 and is very much aware of the challenges and adjustments we all make living with this disease. He spoke about the importance of empowerment and support from family and friends, and shared that his father Mel was his champion. Clark also reminded us all that engaging with the Foundation as a volunteer or advocate is critical so we can continue to make important strides. It was a phenomenal way to start the weekend! Clark is a great example and an inspiration to many – we are so lucky to call him a friend of the Foundation.

Arthritis Foundation President & CEO Ann Palmer took the stage before Clark to talk about our Arthritis Support Network growth, our wonderful volunteers and the nearly $40,000 they have raised this year, and she highlighted the many engagement opportunities available within the Foundation. Prior to Ann, Kevin Purcell, senior director, community support networks and National Gathering founder, spoke about his own journey with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. His journey and experience was the catalyst for starting this wonderful conference 10 years ago.

This year’s sessions were packed with information from trusted professionals – like Dr. McKernan’sCoping with Grief and Loss: How Mindfulness Can Help. Dr. McKernan’s session focused on mindfulness and how it can be used as a tool to help us with grief.

克服约会的挑战, another popular session, helped to teach us that dating is challenging for everyone – no really, it is! But acknowledging that adding physical challenges to dating can make it seem impossible. Our professional matchmaker taught us how to recognize and overcome the things that make dating difficult for us. With the proper mindset, you can overcome any challenge.

Throughout the weekend, another theme started to emerge. You could feel it in the sessions and our attendees were so enthusiastic about it – it was patient engagement. The patient voice is the most important voice – and it was clear that we wanted to hear from you! From our Patient-Centered Care / Shared Decision-Making session to our Advocacy focused talks, we want arthritis patients to gather with us to get more involved in their care and speak up. Our newly formedPatient Leadership Council(PLC) also met for the first time at the National Gathering. The PLC makes recommendations to the Foundation to ensure our programs and work include the patient voice.

It was a powerful weekend filled with fun and educational sessions. We are so grateful for everyone that came to grow with us. Please mark your calendar for next year’s Gathering – March 9 -12, 2018 in Arlington, VA. We hope to see you there!

Learn how you canget involved as a volunteeror join one of our localArthritis Support Networks. Stay in touch for more details about 2018’s National Gathering!

After the conference ended, many of our attendees took to social media to share their experiences. Take a look at what a few of our attendees had to say about the conference:

Laurie K.
Thank you to everyone at #Gathering10 for such a wonderful learning experience. I knew I would gain some knowledge, but I never guessed how much knowledge and friendships I would gain from a conference and excursion. Awesome is too tame a word!

Virginia F.
在大会的最后一天，夕阳西下，我无法用语言来形容这次大会对我的祝福……这不仅是一次学习，也是一次乐趣。演讲者非常棒，非常鼓舞人心，很多新朋友都曾在你身边，了解你的挣扎。我们哭过，我们笑过，我们互相鼓励，交换过联系方式。看到这一切结束，我很难过，但我渴望回到家人和朋友身边，分享我在很长一段时间里度过的一些最好的日子!!
#Gathering10 counting the days till we do this again in March 2018 in Washington DC so looking forward to #Gathering11

Wendy H.
What an amazing weekend with new friends and long-time friends!!! Many thanks to all the people who made #Gathering10 a phenomenal experience! As we head back into our daily lives, we can carry these new bonds and all that we learned with us. We all come away stronger and more empowered. We are family.