New grants aimed at educating healthcare providers and closing the gap on diagnosis and treatment

PRESS RELEASE JAN 28, 2020 08:00 EST

LAFAYETTE, La., January 28, 2020 (Newswire.com) – The ThinkGenetic Foundation is leading an initiative to advance awareness and education in Louisiana about treatable genetic diseases with the help of three educational grants awarded by Sanofi Genzyme.

“Our initiative brings together leaders in healthcare, patient advocacy, and the close-knit community of Louisiana,” said Dave Jacob, President of ThinkGenetic Foundation. “By bringing local influencers to the table along with our passionate medical and education team, lives can be changed for those undiagnosed with, or receiving treatment for, genetic conditions.”

One important local influencer is Cian Robinson, Executive Director of Innovation, Research and Real Estate Investments at Lafayette General Health. 

“Learning more about genetics and its impact on health is a priority at Lafayette General and in the broader community,” Robinson explains. “This educational initiative benefits everyone.”

With a local influencer in place, Jacob is also collaborating with genetic counselor Dawn Laney, MS, CGC. In addition to her role at the ThinkGenetic Foundation, she is an assistant professor at Emory University Department of Human Genetics.

“The Lafayette healthcare system has been enthusiastic to learn more about genetics,” said Laney. “After engaging locally it’s clear to us that the medical community is ready to help diagnose and treat people living with genetic diseases in Louisiana.”

The Foundation has completed two educational events for both nurses and key healthcare provider teams. The next event will be taking place February 20 and will focus on the “A-B-Cs of GENETICS” for healthcare advocates in medically underserved parishes of Louisiana. This wave of the “Acadiana Initiative” will focus on raising healthcare provider awareness about key signs, testing procedures, and treatment options in genetic conditions such as Fabry disease, Pompe disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Usher syndrome, and Tay Sachs disease.  Pairing understanding of these conditions with next steps should help providers, community members, and those living with a genetic condition work together more efficiently.

“Our goal is to jump start the conversation about shortening the time to diagnosis and improving patient outcomes,” explains Laney. “This includes understanding how to identify at-risk patients, order diagnostic testing, prepare and monitor disease progression, empower patient decision-making, identify at-risk family members, and begin targeted therapy as soon as possible.”

The ThinkGenetic Foundation mission ties in with several other initiatives by organizations like Lafayette General Health (a member of Ochsner Health Network), the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and ThinkGenetic, Inc..

“These impactful events are just the first step in our initiative,” says Jacob. “Our vision is to provide support and resources to positively impact the awareness of genetic conditions in a major way. Our events directly support our mission to improve the quality of life for those living with or at-risk for a genetic condition and providing access to practical information and resources.”

Learn more about the upcoming event at http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=q99a66yab&oeidk=a07egt2zdme8c9fd46.

Source: ThinkGenetic Foundation