Announcing the launch of the Fibromyalgia Care Society of America (FCSA), dedicated to revolutionizing fibromyalgia care. The FCSA is the brainchild of Mildred Velez who has been living with fibromyalgia since 2007. The organization is committed to introducing new approaches to care, dedicated care centers, professional training and education as well as a host of non-clinical direct services for people living fibromyalgia. Mrs. Velez, in partnership with a team of doctors, social workers and non-profit professionals has been working to design an organization that fills the gap in care that exists in the fibromyalgia care community.
"There are a handful organizations dedicated to fibromyalgia in the United States" said Mrs. Velez, President and Board Chair of the FCSA, she continued "some are focusing on research, others are focusing on education, some on support groups and some on a combination of all three which is great. I never set out to start my own organization; I was always interested in helping what was already in place. But over the past few months I took a real close look at what was in place and it occurred to me that there are some very critical things being done for other diseases that is are not being done for fibromyalgia."
Mrs. Velez and her board of trustees along with FCSA's advisors have worked on identifying three key areas currently underrepresented or not represented at all in the work being done by other organizations. "We are not here to compete with other organizations, we're here to compliment what they are doing by introducing innovative ways to offer help so that people living with this condition have options and an extended support systems which is very important" said Alex Roque who has been working in an advisory capacity to the FCSA.
FCSA's core service delivery areas include: Centers of Excellence an industry standard in the care of other diseases; a unique program called FibroCares which works to offer non-clinical support to those who need it; and, perhaps the most revolutionary of all is FCSA's Empowerment Groups which is a spinoff of traditional support groups that is designed to offer participants concrete ways in which to cope and be empowered in response to fibromyalgia - in essence combining clinically based approaches to self care along with group therapy and 12-step-program models. This multifaceted approach will ensure those suffering will have a better quality of life until a cure or more treatment options are identified.
Over the next few months FCSA will be announcing the designation of the nation's first Center of Excellence for Fibromyalgia Care as well as the launch of its FibroCares and Empowerment Group services. To learn more about the FCSA or to stay up-to-date with the upcoming announcements visit www.fibro.org.