Altoona Advocate Takes Healthcare Issues to Capitol Hill - Hundreds Urged Congress for More Arthritis Support

Delaney Kuhns of Altoona traveled to Washington, D.C. to ask Congress to support people with arthritis through policies that will ensure increased research, better treatments and greater access to care. Kuhns shared her story of living with the painful symptoms of arthritis, the leading cause of disability in the United States. 

Kuhns, a fifth grader at Pleasant Hill Elementary School has lived with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) since 2009.  She joined other Arthritis Foundation advocates March 24-26 on Capitol Hill for the annual Arthritis Foundation Advocacy Summit. 

Advocates urged Congress to support legislation that will make medications more affordable for patients with arthritis; reauthorize a pediatric subspecialty loan repayment program to address the critical shortage of pediatric rheumatologists in the U.S.; and include post-traumatic osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in the Department of Defense research program. 

About Advocacy Summit
The Arthritis Foundation’s 16th annual Advocacy Summit was held March 24-26 in Washington, D.C.  The Summit brought together nearly 300 key arthritis advocates from all 50 states and the District of Columbia to meet with members of Congress to educate them that more needs to be done for people with arthritis.

About the Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) is committed to raising awareness and reducing the unacceptable impact of arthritis, which strikes one in every five adults and 300,000 children, and is the nation’s leading cause of disability.  To conquer this painful, debilitating disease, we support education, research, advocacy and other vital programs and services.