2011 Jul 27 PR Jan Chambers Co-Director of Pain Care Forum Task Force for IOM Report

 National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association Founder and President to Serve on National Task Force on Pain

Jan Favero Chambers named Co-Director of the Task Force for the Institute of Medicine Pain Report

LOGAN, Utah—(July 27, 2011)—Jan Favero Chambers has been named Co-Director of the Pain Care Forum Task Force for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Pain Report on the Congressionally-mandated study, “Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education and Research.” The study, released June 22, 2011 in Washington, D.C., identifies social stigmas and barriers to pain care and outlines recommendations to overcome these obstructions.

According to the historic report, chronic pain affects an estimated one in four, or 116 million U.S. adults, which is more than the number affected by heart disease, diabetes, and cancer combined. Medical treatment and lost productivity due to pain also cost the nation up to $635 billion each year.  This does not include military personnel, adults living in care facilities, or children.  (The Institute of Medicine (IOM) was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences and acts as an advisor to the federal government and to identify issues related to medical care, research, and education.)

Favero Chambers’ key role as Co-Director of the Pain Care Forum Task Force for the IOM Pain Report not only elevates fibromyalgia (FM) to the highest national forefront, but the role also comes less than one year after launching the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association. Founded in late 2010, the NFMCPA is a not for profit, 501c3 organization whose mission is to build a united patient and medical community that will execute advocacy programs regarding access to care, scientific research, diagnosis and treatment for people suffering with fibromyalgia and chronic pain.

Favero Chambers and Task Force Co-Director, Will Rowe, CEO of the American Pain Foundation, will serve for approximately 4 years and will be charged with addressing:

•    Reducing barriers to access—whether legal, regulatory, reimbursement or cultural;
•    Educating the public on prevention, treatment and self-management;
•    Improving professional education across the spectrum of disciplines and throughout the continuum of undergraduate, graduate and continuing health professions training;
•    Focusing pain research efforts at NIH and coordinating that research with other government agencies and the private sector in order to speed the development of new therapies, foster interdisciplinary approaches, increase longitudinal research of people in pain, and increase the number of pain researchers; and
•    Recommendations from the Pain Care Forum to the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary for developing a strategic plan to improve pain care in America by the end of 2012.

“The NFMCPA is proud to be spearheading efforts on behalf of the millions of Americans who suffer from fibromyalgia and chronic pain conditions as we actively engage our policy makers, Senators, and Representatives in Washington to respond to the IOM Report by funding pain research and education,” said Favero Chambers. “The NFMCPA strongly believes we have a right to live free of chronic pain, and we are calling upon all members of our community to step forward and draw upon this Report to help us in the cultural re-casting of pain and lay a clear path toward much needed improvements in pain research, care and treatment.
“While chronic body-wide pain is the most common symptom of fibromyalgia (FM), other symptoms of sleep disturbances, fatigue, and overlapping conditions such as TMJ and IBS significantly deteriorate the quality of life for people with FM.  Economic, societal, and personal costs can be reduced through research and development of treatments, and eventually a cure for FM.  The IOM Pain Report accurately reflects the serious costs and concerns of 116 million Americans living with chronic pain.  It squarely places responsibility onto collaborative stakeholders and government agencies to bring about change in the cultural attitude, treatment, economic burden, and understanding of chronic pain.  It is a paradigm shift to look at pain as an illness or condition rather than a symptom of another illness or disease state.
“We thank the Congress for commissioning the highly respected IOM to study this problem and develop recommendations on how to improve pain research, care and education.  And we thank the IOM, and in particular the distinguished panel of experts on this Committee, for their hard work and for sending a clear message to our government and our citizens that pain is a major public health problem that deserves much greater attention and focus.”

About Jan Favero Chambers
Jan Favero Chambers, 56, is a mother of five, who was bedridden for 16 months before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2006. After years of searching and eventually finding treatments to successfully manage her chronic pain illness, Favero Chambers jumpstarted her public advocacy efforts by founding the Center for Understanding, Research, & Education of Fibromyalgia (CURE FM), now known as the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association, in 2008. Recently, Favero Chambers was appointed by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to work as the only fibromyalgia organization with the Pain Care Forum, a professional organization representing hundreds of pain associations nationwide.
About the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association
Founded in 2010 in Logan, Utah, the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association is a not for profit, 501c3 organization whose mission is to build a united patient and medical community that will execute advocacy programs regarding access to care, scientific research, diagnosis and treatment for people suffering with fibromyalgia and chronic pain. For more information, visit www.fmcpaware.org

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