The American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation announced today that Abbott Laboratories has donated $3.5 million, the largest one-time gift that the Foundation has received to date, to an endowment program that will ensure the continued recruitment of rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals for years to come.
The ACR/REF Abbott Endowment for Rheumatology Development will focus on attracting medical students, residents and health professionals to careers in rheumatology (a subspecialty of internal medicine that focuses on arthritis and other rheumatic diseases). The endowment is expected to support a select number of existing award programs as well as support the development of several new awards.
While new and emerging treatments have the potential to improve the quality of life for patients with arthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases, such advances come at a time when many rheumatology practitioners, educators and researchers will be retiring. It is estimated that by the year 2015, the number of retiring rheumatologists is expected to surpass the number of young professionals entering the field. The ACR Research and Education Foundation and Abbott Laboratories are committed to working together to ensure that patients will continue to receive the specialized care they need, and that vital research designed to investigate the causes, improve treatment, and work toward the prevention and cure of rheumatic diseases will continue.
"We consider this initiative to be one of the most important efforts of the Foundation, and are extremely pleased to partner with Abbott Laboratories," said Joseph Golbus, MD, President of the ACR Research and Education Foundation. "Recruiting medical professionals into the rheumatology field means that more Americans will benefit from the knowledge experience and care that rheumatologists are uniquely qualified to provide."
"We are proud to initiate this endowment with the ACR Research and Education Foundation, which is designed to encourage early careers in rheumatology," said Tim Walbert, divisional vice president and general manager, Abbott Immunology. "This partnership further enhances our commitment to helping patients who suffer from rheumatic diseases and the physicians and health care professionals who treat them."
Abbott Laboratories is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals, nutritionals, and medical products, including devices and diagnostics. The company employs approximately 70,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.
The mission of the American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, is to attract and support the training and development of qualified physicians and other health care professionals, and to support research designed to investigate the causes, improve treatment, and work toward the prevention and cure of rheumatic diseases.
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