Top 10 | Best Team Performance

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The 2019 WEGO Health Awards turned out to be our biggest celebration yet! With over 6k nominations and 130k endorsements, we were able to celebrate more Patient Leaders than ever before.

The program celebrates the top 5 finalists in each of the 15 WEGO Health Awards categories, but with so many nominations, it’s nearly impossible to shine a bright light on all these deserving nominees! In hopes of recognizing even more nominees, we’ve compiled the Top 10 Patient Leaders in each category based on community endorsements.

WEGO Health Awards Best Best Team Performance Award

Advocating doesn’t have to be a one woman/man show. This category is for those teams who work better together. Whether it be a group that runs an online chat, a non-profit organization, or a caregiver and patient duo – these teams take their activism to new heights because of the assistance from one another.

Burning Nights CRPS Support | CRPS Patient Leader

2019 Best Team Performance Winner

“We raise awareness and support anyone who is affected by the poorly understood chronic condition, CRPS through awareness sessions for health and legal professionals as well as the general public, so that patients are diagnosed quicker and treatment started sooner to give patients a better prognosis. We provide a number of frontline support services including up to date, evidence based website, telephone helpline, an annual national conference, access to legal support, a dedicated email support system, 24/7 online community forum and social media support across 6 social media channels.”

Learn more about the WEGO Health Award winner.

Fibromyalgia Care Society of America, Inc. | Fibromyalgia Patient Leader

2019 Best Team Performance Finalist

The mission of the Fibromyalgia Care Society of America (FCSA) is to provide education, care and supportive services to individuals living with fibromyalgia, their families and the community at large. FCSA will also work to educate medical providers on the appropriate diagnostic, care and treatment of those living with this condition.

Click here to follow this passionate team.

ArmiahUniqueWorld | Optic Nerve Hypoplasia Patient Leader

2019 Best Team Performance Finalist

Ar’miah and her family use social media to share a positive and joyful perspective about life with health challenges. It’s a message that resonates with their large community of followers.

Brighten up your feeds by following ArmiahUniqueWorld.

Lupus LA | Lupus Patient Leader

2019 Best Team Performance Finalist

“Every life touched by lupus reveals a unique and important story. At Lupus LA, we are bringing these powerful stories to the forefront of lupus awareness in order to shine a light on this invisible illness.”

Check out the important advocacy work this team is doing.

Triage Cancer | Cancer Patient Leader

2019 Best Team Performance Finalist

Triage Cancer is a national, nonprofit organization that provides education on the practical and legal issues that may impact individuals diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers, through events, materials, and resources. A cancer diagnosis can be a life altering event, not only for the individual diagnosed, but also for an individual’s family, friends, caregivers, and community of support. Triage Cancer helps people move beyond diagnosis.

Find out how to follow this advocacy powerhouse.

Gynaecological Awareness Information Network | Women’s Health Patient Leader

“We are the Gynaecological Awareness Information Network Inc. Also known as GAIN Inc. We are run by a fantatsic team of volunteers who are passionate about raising awareness and education of all Gynaecological conditions. Our team look forward to carrying on our work for many years to come.”

Learn more about GAIN and follow them on social.

Cathy Pederson – Standing Up to POTS | POTS Patient Leader

Cathy Pederson, Ph.D., is the Elizabeth E. Powelson Professor of Biology at Wittenberg University. She founded Standing Up to POTS® in 2014 after her daughter became ill with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome shortly after turning 10. Cathy has published eight papers on POTS/chronic illness and quality of life issues since 2016. Through Standing Up to POTS, more than $100,000 has been raised for POTS research. Standing Up to POTS has awarded grants to five POTS research teams in four different countries. They host an annual Standing Up to POTS 5K/2K event in Springfield, Ohio.

Stay up to date on the important advocacy work Cathy is doing.

iPain Foundation | Chronic Pain Patient Leaders

“The ultimate goal is to allow chronic pain patients the ability to perform their regular activities in the community and to bolster society’s ability to provide full opportunities and appropriate supports for its pain citizens. Through supporting education for pain patients, family members, caretakers and medical professionals, we make an important contribution to the overall knowledge and treatment of chronic pain. This allows our foundation to affect the lives of the millions of people with chronic pain worldwide as well as chronic pain patients, caretakers, family members and healthcare professionals.”

Want to learn more about what the iPain team is up to?

Lena Morsch | Congenital Heart Disease Patient Leader

“In 2012, I saw a great need for women with CHD to have a private, safe place to talk about their issues and concerns. Many women with CHD were frustrated or intimidated about opening up due to unsolicited advice or judgement. It’s extremely difficult to talk about self-image issues, child-bearing, birth control, relationships, and finding the right care in “mixed company”. In 2012, I created a sisterhood of women with CHD. I based my idea of a “sisterhood” on my college sorority days. I started with a few of my close friends with CHD, and we now have over 2000 members from all over the world! We are growing every day! We screen each member before they join, to keep the group safe and genuine. I’m very proud of our accomplishments! We help our members find the right care in adulthood, we listen to them during health crisis, we inspired them to seek the most out of life, and most importantly, they know they are not alone!”

Add Lena to your feed.

Endometriosis Memes Community – Andrea Wesche | Endometriosis Patient Leader

“We started as a simple Facebook group that focused on memes and being able to have humor when dealing with chronic illness. Over the last year, we have grown to over 14,000 members and are one of the most inclusive communities for “endofam”. We welcome trans endofam, patients, partners and loved ones. We laugh, we cry, we vent, we support. We operate on the principle that our disease affects us all differently, and not all treatment options are available to every patient. We work to help members make the best decision available to them, and understand that their decision is theirs alone.”

Keep an eye on how this group uses humor for advocacy.