OFFER Conference Delivers the Best

The Organization for Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Education and Research (OFFER) hosted its third annual conference on April 15-16, 2005, in Sandy , Utah , a suburb of Salt Lake City . The conference featured internationally recognized experts in CFIDS and fibromyalgia (FM) complemented by an excellent group of local speakers. Two separate meeting tracks were offered to health care providers and patients. The lovely community college site made it easy to conduct these two conferences in one, sharing speakers but offering topics and content geared to the needs of each audience.

The provider conference began Friday morning with nearly 150 providers in attendance, representing diverse disciplines including internal medicine, family practice, social work, chiropractic, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychiatry, massage, osteopathy, acupuncture and psychology. OFFER founder Dr. Lucinda Bateman welcomed fellow clinicians and kicked off a series of plenary talks on CFIDS and FM. Dr. N. Lee Smith of University of Utah , outlined a mechanistic approach to treatment. David Bell, MD, reviewed his 20-year follow-up study of a group of patients diagnosed with CFS as adolescents. Birgitta Evengaard of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shared results of her research on CFS in Sweden .

The patient conference got started at noon, with a lively hall of exhibitors welcoming more than 300 patients, caregivers, family members and friends.

Keynote speakers Dr. I. Jon Russell and Dr. Nancy Klimas provided research updates on FM and CFIDS, respectively, with Dr. Russell addressing the patients first and Dr. Klimas presenting to the providers after their lunch break. A quick dash between buildings allowed them to switch places, with Dr. Klimas delivering her talk to the patients and Dr. Russell sharing the latest FM news with the providers.

Workshops on an interesting set of topics filled the rest of the afternoon for the patients, while the providers heard about exercise testing and post-exertional relapse. The providers returned on Saturday morning for a half-day to participate in four of eight workshops addressing pain care, physical therapy, sleep, behavior change, mood disorders and the impact of CFS/FM on relationships. With so many sectors of the health care community represented, the question and answer sessions revealed diverse perspectives on course content, adding another rich dimension to the very practical information delivered at this conference.

I’ve participated in dozens of CFIDS conferences in my 14 years with the CFIDS Association of America. In my thank-you note to Dr. Bateman and OFFER’s executive director Carol Arnzen, I wrote that their conference was one of the very best I’d attended, and I’m quite sincere in that statement. From the faculty to the facility, the topic selection to the food, OFFER delivered the best of everything. The speakers were energetic; the participants enthusiastic, and the organization of the rather intricate schedule was excellent. I was very proud that the CFIDS Association was a conference sponsor and had helped publicize it.

Travel these days is a real hassle and I don’t like being away from my family, but the experience of attending this conference was well worth the trip. DVD recordings of the patient conference are available from OFFER, as are recordings of past years’ sessions. I think you’ll find it worth the expense and trip to the mailbox to learn from the speakers in the comfort of your own home.

O.F.F.E.R
1002 E. South Temple, Suite 408
Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Phone: 1-801-328-8080
Website: http://offerutah.org/