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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 14, 2006 |
For more information, please contact the ATA at thyroid@thyroid.org. |
Alan P. Farwell, MD, to Head Patient Education Efforts of the
American Thyroid Association’s Board of Directors
(PHOENIX)—Alan P. Farwell, MD, of West Boylston, Mass., has been appointed as Director of Patient Education on the Board of Directors of the American Thyroid Association (ATA). This new, executive-level position reflects the ATA’s commitment to patient education and outreach.
Dr. Farwell is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Endocrine Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in Worcester, where he joined the faculty in 1990. He is an active clinician, teacher, and researcher. His research focus has been on the hormonal regulation of brain development.
A member of the ATA since 1990, he has served on ATA committees continuously since 1997. A major focus of Dr. Farwell’s service to the ATA has been in area of education, chairing the Education Committee (1997–2000) and serving as co-director of ATA/AACE workshops in San Francisco, Oakbrook Hills, and Atlanta. In addition, he chaired the Patient Education and Advocacy Committee from its inception in 2001 until 2004. In the latter role, he served as editor of the web-based patient educational brochures on the ATA web site, which now average more than 6,000 hits a day.
Dr. Farwell served a one-year appointed term on the Board of Directors in 2005. He also has served on the ad hoc Website Task Force, the Program Committee, and the Patient Education Task Force. Currently, he is the chair of the ATA Alliance for Thyroid Patient Education, a position he has held since the group’s inception.
“The ATA is the leading voice in patient education and advocacy for the management of thyroid disorders,” said Dr. Farwell. “Our continued collaboration with thyroid patient advocacy groups and our sister endocrine societies provides a unified voice to be raised in support of thyroid awareness, bringing a more clarified focus on the issues that affect patients with thyroid disorders.”
The American Thyroid Association is a nonprofit professional medical society composed of physicians and scientists dedicated to enhancing the understanding of thyroid physiology and pathophysiology, improving diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases, and promoting the education of physicians, patients, and the public about thyroid disorders. The ATA’s web site, www.thyroid.org, provides professional and patient resources, such as treatment guidelines, thyroid health brochures in English and Spanish, and access to Friends of the ATA, a patient-oriented service providing access to the latest in thyroid health information.
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