October 17, 2019

LUMBEERTON Two Southeastern Health co-workers who lost their fathers to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease have helped to organize an event to raise awareness and money to assist COPD patients.

The Every Breath Counts COPD 5K Run, Awareness Walk and Health Fair is scheduled for Nov. 2 at Dr. Raymond B. Pennington Athletic Complex in Lumberton. Day-of registration for the event begins at 7 a.m. and the 5K begins at 8 a.m. There is a $25 entry fee for the race, which includes a T-shirt. To register in advance for the 5K, go online to https://my6.raceresult.com/139091/.

Melanie McKee and Stephanie Smith, who both work in Southeastern Healths Care Coordination department, are the women who came up with the idea for this event and reached out to Southeastern Lifestyle Fitness Center Manager Mike Jimenez and Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Manager James Smith, since pulmonary rehab is vital to helping patients successfully manage COPD, a term applied to a family of lung diseases that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Earlier this year, Melanie and I were talking about the many COPD patients and caretakers in our own community who dont have access to or the knowledge of resources that are available to COPD patients, Smith said. Our fathers passed two months apart, and through our journeys we found support from each other and the huge need to bring awareness for COPD. We thought, what better way to honor them, than for us to give back to our community, bringing awareness to this cause, which is greatly needed in our area. I knew it would make our fathers proud that we continue to reach out to help others in similar situations.

The event also will include a free Awareness Walk at 9:30 a.m., which will take participants on a designated route at the park. Family members who would like a loved one recognized on the day of the event can make an advance donation designating COPD Awareness Event and in memory or in honor of the individual by contacting the Southeastern Health Foundation at 910-671-5583.

The race awards will be presented at 11 a.m. and a COPD Awareness Health Fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The health fair will include a speaker, Southeastern Health pulmonologist Dr. Andres Endara-Bravo, and educational booths with free COPD screening, pulmonary rehab information, medication resources, MyChart sign-up, palliative care/life care planning information, the Wellness On Wheels Bus, and information on respiratory supplies.

Money raised will go toward scholarships to help Southeastern Pulmonary Rehab patients without secondary insurance be better able to participate in pulmonary rehab. It also will benefit a Life Care Planning Initiative.

The thing about COPD is that people can live years with it and not know they have it, Smith said. My dad, Rickey Barnes, had always been very active, healthy, and was one of the hardest working men you could meet. In the blink of an eye, his lifestyle changed forever. I kept suggesting pulmonary rehab until he finally agreed to attend. There, he received additional education about COPD, medication education, breathing exercises, and so much more.

As a nurse, McKee said she was able to help her father, John Sasser McKee III, throughout his COPD progression, but she knows that not everyone is lucky enough to have a health-care professional in the family.

His journey could have been very different, McKee said. Initially, once he was prescribed the necessary medications for COPD, he was much better. It also helped when I was finally able to convince him that pulmonary rehab would be beneficial.

McKee and her father openly discussed his questions about the end-of-life process, and he met with the palliative care expert at Southeastern Health, which helped to make his end-of-life transition easier. Looking back, she wished that the family had talked about palliative care sooner. Smith also wished that her father had accepted palliative care sooner in his diseases progress.

McKee and Smith know their stories arent unique, and they want to help more families who have a loved one with COPD. They hope Every Breath Counts will become an annual event.

Patients and caregivers must be educated and encouraged to ask their providers questions, be health-care advocates, think about getting preventative screenings, have education on respiratory supplies, and more, Smith said. There were over 10,000 patients who came through our healthcare system within the past year that had a diagnosis of COPD. This event will offer a magnitude of information that can help people be informed on what resources are available to them so that they can live their best quality of life and have better outcomes.

In the event of inclement weather, visit @SeHealth on Facebook for event updates. For more information about this event, call 910-738-5433.

Stephanie Smith, left, and Melanie McKee are using their families experiences with COPD to make a difference and raise awareness for others with the disease.

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