[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 18, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2803-E2804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE LEADERSHIP OF THE SLE LUPUS FOUNDATION AND THE LUPUS 
    COOPERATIVES OF NY FOR BEING LEADERS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST LUPUS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 18, 2009

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the SLE Lupus 
Foundation and the Lupus Cooperatives of New York for their 
contributions to help people with lupus and for fighting gender and 
racial disparities in the treatment of lupus for almost 40 years.
  Systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE, commonly called lupus, is a 
chronic and potentially fatal autoimmune disorder. It is one of the 
Nation's least recognized major diseases, and it disproportionately 
affects women, particularly women of color. In lupus, the body's immune 
system forms antibodies that can attack virtually any healthy organ or 
tissue, from the kidneys to the brain, heart, lungs, skin, joints and 
blood. Lupus is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, kidney 
disease, and stroke in young women. No major new treatments for lupus 
have been approved in 50 years.
  The SLE Lupus Foundation, headquartered in New York City with a West 
Coast division in Los Angeles, was founded in 1970. It is a nonprofit 
organization that provides direct patient services, education, public 
awareness, and funding for novel lupus research on the national level. 
The Foundation deals with the predominance and severity of such lupus 
complications as kidney and cardiac disease in Blacks, Hispanics, 
Asians and people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
  Madam Speaker, in 1998, the SLE Lupus Foundation opened the first 
Lupus Cooperative of New York in East Harlem. The Lupus Cooperative 
programs ensure that people of lupus receive the medical treatment, 
emotional care and practical assistance needed to live with this 
chronic disease, no matter their gender, or ethnic and socioeconomic 
backgrounds. Over the past decade, the Lupus Cooperatives have focused 
on communities characterized by high poverty rates, large numbers of 
uninsured residents, numerous single-parent families and a population 
at highrisk for lupus. They have worked actively to address gender and 
racial health disparities by demonstrating a collaborative model for 
the management of chronic illness among young, inner-city minority 
women.
  The SLE Lupus Foundation is a member organization of the Lupus 
Research Institute National Coalition, which has affiliate 
organizations nationwide. Through the Lupus Research Institute National 
Coalition, the SLE Lupus Foundation has created visibility for the 
needs of underserved populations through awareness-building, advocacy 
and direct education programs on a national, state and local level.
  Highlights of accomplishments include:
  ``Invisible No More'' forum on race and lupus at the Congressional 
Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference in 2004;
  Educational panel on heart disease and lupus presented at the 
Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference in 2005;
  Spanish language public awareness campaign to alert Hispanic women to 
the dangers of lupus in 2005;
  Congressional briefing on racial disparity in lupus to the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus in 2006;
  Five-City series on the increased risk of heart disease in people 
with lupus, particularly young women and African-American women. That 
was presented in conjunction with the Association of Black 
Cardiologists in 2007. The series was held in New York City, San 
Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Detroit;
  National Lupus Health Education for Physicians and Health Care 
Providers--in partnership with the Office of Minority Health and Human 
Services.
  Madam Speaker, the SLE Lupus Foundation has accomplished and will 
continue to accomplish great things for people with lupus. I am 
grateful to the SLE Foundation and the Lupus Cooperative of New York 
for the work that they do to help people with lupus nationwide.

[[Page E2804]]



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