2000
Launches the Continence Care Champion Awards program at the suggestion of Benson Smith
Initiates a Spanish language program with a grant from the Medtronic Foundation – translates its six most popular consumer fact sheets
Presents the Blueprint for Continence Care in an Assisted Living Setting at a media briefing during the annual conference of the American Geriatric Society
Develops and markets to weekly newspapers the Personal Health Matters newspaper column featuring national spokesperson, Dr. Lindsey Kerr
NAFC shares success with collaborative groups in reversing the initial recommendation by Medicare to stop coverage of biofeedback and electrical stimulation
NAFC stages its 18th Annual Meeting – Assessment, Treatment, and Management of Incontinence – jointly sponsored by Emory University School of Medicine and the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates
Nancy Muller is named as the Executive Director of NAFC
2001
Updates and expands organization’s website to include an online Resource Guide – Products and Services for Incontinence®, a search engine to find past newsletter articles by topic, and a database of healthcare providers sorted by state.
NAFC’s 19th Annual Conference – Addressing Urinary Health in Eldercare Environments – scheduled for October 19-20 in Washington, DC is canceled due to the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The program is converted to a CD Rom to complement the recently published Blueprint for Continence Care in an Assisted Living Setting
Awarded a record grant by the Medtronic Foundation for a multi-year outreach to the Hispanic communities
Produces nationally a television PSA through the assistance of a local CBS affiliate that is distributed to 380 mid-sized media markets in 36 states
Forms a consumer advisory council for face-to-face input on new publications and services
Sponsors a nationwide mall-intercept survey of consumers in 20 U. S. cities to research bathroom habits and bladder control problems in men and women ages 30 – 70, resulting in media coverage by Reuters, ABCnews.com, and Yahoo news service, as well as The Wall Street Journal, LA Times, and USA Today
Conducts 100+ in-depth consumer surveys by telephone, revealing incontinence as a silent factor that complicates the treatment of other complaints such as stress, weight gain, anxiety, and sleeplessness
Serves as a National Collaborative Partner to the University of Rochester School of Nursing as it studies how best to adapt AHCPR Clinical Practice Guidelines to skilled nursing facilities attempting to provide care to incontinent residents
2002
Collaborates with the State of Illinois Department of Public Health (Office of Women’s Health) to produce a two-hour educational program on incontinence in women for satellite broadcast nationally through the CDC’s Health Training & Information Network
Successfully combats CMS’ proclamation of the government’s intent to slash Medicare reimbursement on out-patient surgery by as much as 70-80% to rescue an ill-conceived funding arrangement for new medical devices
Spends a day on Capitol Hill acquainting targeted senators and members of Congress with NAFC’s constituency and its needs
Collaborates with UNC-Chapel Hill to host in Charleston an educational symposium for health care professionals on Urinary Incontinence in the Elderly, with a special focus on continuing care retirement communities
Publishes the new Your Personal Guide to Bladder Health booklet, as a tool in support of the Blueprint
Hosts its first Women’s Educational Forum on Bladder Health & Pelvic Support in Houston, featuring Debbie Reynolds as celebrity spokesperson and spotlighting U. S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee as keynote speaker, who presents NAFC with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition. In concert with the event, the Advocacy Coalition is born at NAFC’s initiative, comprised of a collaborative network of over 20 professional associations and consumer organizations.
With generous support for Hispanic outreach from the Medtronic Foundation, PSAs in Spanish are distributed to 100 Spanish language television and 200 radio stations across America in March through Univision
Quality Care newsletter is revamped in format to save on mailing costs by creating a “wrapper”. An editorial calendar for focus by issue is newly created
The 12th edition of the Resource Guide is published.
Sponsors Harris survey nationwide of women on SUI, for the first time as young as 18 years of age, revealing that 1 in 4 adult women of all ages experience symptoms of stress urinary incontinence at least monthly. Receives national media coverage in SELF, Cosmopolitan, and the Harvard Health Newsletter as a result.
2003
NAFC relocates is headquarters to Charleston for proximity to a major medical mecca offered by MUSC, Roper/St. Francis Hospitals, East Cooper Hospital, Trident Hospital, and the VA Hospital, access to undergraduates educated in not-for-profit accounting and communications, and to be home in a destination city for hosting conferences and meetings. The Development Alliance of Charleston stages a multiple county media event to announce the relocation
The Resource Guide becomes a biennial publication, with a new DISCOVERIES® publication created for distribution in alternating years
The website is expanded with new sections on urge incontinence, stress urinary incontinence, a newsletter search engine with archived feature articles, a media center for news, and The Bladder Forum (a message board functioning as an online support group for web site visitors who register with NAFC)
Consumer educational leaflets receive a new, branded template.
Enters into a new relationship with Caregivers Marketplace™ , a not for profit service that offers rebates and discounts to consumers on selected non-prescription products through membership enrollment and proof of purchase
Streamlines financial record-keeping and redundant data entry, upgrades computer hardware system and operating software, and converts to new applications software to improve contact management capabilities with Raiser’s Edge®
Improves efficiency of sorting the Continence Resource Service with the addition of zip code mapping software
Routinely attends annual meetings as a member of the International Continence Society, participating in media events presenting its proprietary consumer research, spotlighting NAFC advocacy initiatives, and serving on both the Continence Promotion Committee and the newly formed Ethics Committee of the ICS.
Sponsors Harris Interactive nationwide survey of women with OAB, spotlighting the reasons for their problems with medication compliance and the compromised health status of such symptomatic consumers
2004
Holds standing-room-only Women’s Forum in Charleston, capturing all presentations in a first-ever global web cast of the event
Publishes Managing Continence for People Living with MS, the first in a series of disease-specific booklets, in a collaborative effort with the National MS Society
Produces a Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise Instruction Kit for Women, including a motivational video featuring Board member and nursing professor Dr. Carolyn Sampselle
Adds new section to the website on the topic of selecting absorbents
Moves from temporary office space into permanent housing in Historic Charleston, an upbeat transition neighborhood known as the “digital corridor”
Acquires statistical tracking software to map and measure web site traffic and provide quarterly reports to industry sponsors
Publishes the 13th Edition of the Resource Guide
Sponsors still another nationwide survey by Harris Interactive of men and women ages 30-70, revealing the value to engendering self-esteem and increasing knowledge of treatment and management options from seeking diagnosis for bladder control problems. A media event at the Plaza Hotel in New York City is staged and the New York Times features incontinence in its Tuesday “Health & Science” section as a result
Another appearance in the syndicated newspaper column of Dear Abby, triggering a tenfold increase in web site activity in the immediate days that follow
Participates in a national summit on fall prevention, assembled by the Home Safety Council and The National Council on the Aging
Participates in commentary to the USP and the CMS concerning the structure for drug formularies under the new Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit
2005
Publishes the Pocket Guide for Caregivers of the Elderly, another tool in support of the Blueprint for Continence Care
Expands web site to include new sections on bowel health and fecal incontinence, as well as enlarged prostate (BPH)
Hosts the third educational forum, in collaboration with Duke University Medical Center on the Duke campus, including a breakout session covering “What Every Woman Should Know About Her Man’s Prostate” and featuring gold medalist Mary Lou Retton to welcome the audience and encourage seeking treatment in a nationwide radio PSA during Bladder Health Week
Produces an educational broadcast in collaboration with UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health and School of Journalism in conjunction with the State of Alabama Department of Public Health, utilizing once again the CDC’s satellite communications network with professionals in public health
Utilizes web site for a survey on medications compliance among consumers, tapping guidance from the The Health Institute at the School of Medicine of Tufts University on questionnaire design
Expands Hispanic outreach by conducting nationwide consumer focus interviews, hiring an Hispanic public relations and advertising agency to craft culturally sensitive to women
Continues to publish in national and international journals, including: 1) Business Briefing: Women’s Healthcare “Addressing Urinary Incontinence in Women – What Primary Care Providers Need to Know About Their Patients”, 2) The Journal on Active Aging “Inner Strength: Why Exercise is Vital to Pelvic Floor Health,” and 3) Urologic Nursing “What Americans Understand and How They are Affected by Bladder Control Problems.”
Advocates vocally for fairness in applying evidence based medicine concepts to drug formulary choices by policy makers and state Medicaid agency administrators
Expands web site content to include a new sponsored section encouraging participation in clinical trial research and the launch of
”Ask An Expert” programming throughout the year
Develops Standards of Excellence for Board Governance based largely on guidelines from the National Health Council and adopts written quality standards for staff operations and management
Expands consumer education materials to include a new leaflet covering the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic organ prolapse, signaling a wider embrace of NAFC’s mission to include fecal and urinary incontinence and related pelvic floor disorders, voiding dysfunction, and nocturnal enuresis
Features Board member Dr. Willy Davila on the national Spanish radio show “El Consultorio de la Dra. Aliza” and posts the broadcast on NAFC’s web site