The topic of this year’s Medicine X | CHANGE educational grand challenge is chronic obstructive lung disease, or COPD. It is a chronic lung condition that makes breathing difficult for the 16 million Americans who have the disease and millions more who are undiagnosed. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is the #4 leading cause of death in the US and includes the conditions emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Working with Stanford Medicine X on this year’s educational grand challenge are two leading COPD advocacy experts, Grace Anne Dorney Koppel and Ted Koppel.
Grace Anne DORNEY KOPPEL
Grace Anne Dorney Koppel is an educator, a behavioral scientist, and practicing attorney who was diagnosed with COPD in 2001. At the time of her diagnosis she had just 26% lung function and was not expected to live more than a few years. Thanks to pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise and knowledge, “It’s now 18 years since I was diagnosed and I still breathe better now than I did then. Knowledge, adherence to medications, and exercise are powerful,” she says.
Grace Anne and Ted are passionate about raising COPD awareness to improve the quality of life for the hundred of millions worldwide who have COPD. Together they created the Dorney-Koppel Foundation and have co-funded 12 pulmonary rehabilitation clinics across the country.
Ted KOPPEL
Journalist Ted Koppel was the anchor and managing editor of ABC News’ Nightline for 26 years, becoming the longest-serving news anchor in U.S. broadcast history. When he left ABC News after 42 years, he was the most honored reporter in that network’s history. He has won every major news award multiple times, including one for lifetime achievement. Ted now serves as CBS Sunday Morning’s Senior Contributor, in which role he just won his 43rd Emmy.
A signature feature of our Medicine X | CHANGE fall event is the opportunity to apply what you are learning about change management into practice through an educational learning opportunity, or what we are calling an “educational grand challenge”. Our Medicine X Educational Grand Challenge is an opportunity to work with diverse and inclusive groups of health care stakeholders around an important health care problem by applying what you learn at Medicine X | CHANGE in an engaging and collaborative educational format.
