An Interview with Cindy Berrier and Arthritis Services of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County

Cynthia (Cindy) Berrier, RN, BSN, is the Executive Director at the Arthritis Services of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County

1. What is your organization’s interest in the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance (OAAA)?
   

   Our founder, Ms. Shirley Rodgers approached the Thurston Arthritis Center in 1977 about the notion of starting an organization in Charlotte. She, along with several local rheumatologists developed a plan for our agency-Arthritis Services, a place where we could provide services to augment the medical management of common rheumatological conditions. Our programs would be centered around patient education, adaptive exercise, and on-going supportive services (counseling, support groups). Having rheumatoid arthritis gave her the passion to want to help others like herself, yet she knew all too well that she needed some guidance from the experts…and she found that at Thurston. We covet this relationship that has only strengthened with the development of the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance. The Osteoarthritis Action Alliance has been a huge resource for education for our staff, as well as a concise way to find appropriate funding resources for our work. Many times, the professionals at Thurston/Osteoarthritis Action Alliance have been contributors to our quarterly publication-The Arthritis Outreach. Simply put, we value the work of the Alliance, and covet our partnership.

   Worth noting is that Arthritis Services was a proud ‘Small Grants Award Recipient’ during the 2016 cycle from the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance. We are in the midst of fulfilling our pledge to teach 3 series (72 classes) of the nationally recognized evidence-based ‘Fit & Strong’ program developed by Dr. Susan Hughes through the University of Chicago-Illinois for this grant award.

   2.  What do you think is the most important issue today related to osteoarthritis?

   The sheer numbers (one-quarter of the population by the year 2020!) that will be affected with arthritis is astounding! The public health crisis is real, and it is emerging on a scale like never before. In our community, the increase in the numbers of older adults will far surpass the rate of our child population. Unfortunately, with advancing age, the incidence of arthritis and related chronic health conditions will soar. Nearly 60% of older adults will develop arthritis, and half of those will have other co-morbid conditions.  The Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons predicted in 2008 that the numbers of hip and knee replacements due to osteoarthritis will soar from a documented 523,000 in 2005 to nearly 3.4 million by the year 2030. This means that those of us in the field of arthritis need to ramp up our educational efforts AND to provide ONGOING opportunities for persons to practice self-help skills that can make a difference in ‘merely living with,’ to ‘living well!’ despite arthritis.

   3. How does your organization’s work connect to issues in osteoarthritis?

   Our mission is to promote health and hope for persons with arthritis and other related health conditions. We focus on those with the greatest risk of poor health from these conditions. We teach and encourage safe and appropriate self-management skills using evidenced-based programming. Our programs focus on education, adaptive exercise and ongoing support.

   Arthritis Services is the founder of The Community Arthritis/Chronic Disease Project of Mecklenburg County. This program was born in 2006 as a direct response to the rising trends in the incidence of arthritis. Our organization supplies trained instructors (with physical therapy oversight) to teach nearly 500 classes out in 20 underserved communities throughout Mecklenburg County (including Pineville, Mint Hill and Matthews). The program consists of 6 educational lectures (provided by a nurse on-loan from Mecklenburg County Dept. of Social Services) and 24 exercise sessions taught by a contracted pool of certified fitness instructors, and physical therapist. This program has 12 years of data demonstrating that persons with arthritis report improved function and a reduction in pain. The program also was developed to fit the time constraints of when the participants have noon-time nutrition through Mecklenburg County. The program works! Currently this program serves 700 persons annually-many of whom would not have access to such specialized services. An additional 200 plus are served through the menu of evidence-based services: The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, The Diabetes Self-Management Program, Fit & Strong!, Tai Chi for Arthritis, The Chronic Pain Management Program, and A Matter of Balance: Falls Prevention.

   4. What is a headline you’d like to see about osteoarthritis in five years?

   ‘WEAR AND TEAR’ ARTHRITIS HAS WORN ITSELF OUT!
   …numbers are spiraling down, down, down.…

   5. What is one interesting fact you’d like people to know about your organization?

   FORTY YEARS!! That’s how long we have been a stand-alone, non-profit agency in Charlotte, NC- serving persons with arthritis and related chronic health conditions.  We learned a lot through the years about what we could do, and what we couldn’t do. We mastered self-management education, and we sought on-going funding for The Community Arthritis/Chronic Disease Project of Mecklenburg County for persons to have on-going access to such coveted skills-especially those that are underserved in our community who could not pay for such education and practice. We credit our success to great leadership of a dedicated Board of Directors. Recently, this group has guided our agency through a transition-a merge within the Centralina Area Agency on Aging. We are remaining a 501C3 organization within their auspices-continuing to be responsible for our own funding. This will gradually over time catapult our services into Centralina’s NINE county service region. We are indebted to Centralina for recognizing that the osteoarthritis epidemic is real, and that we are stronger together in tackling this public health burden. We pledge to continue to carve out new and creative ways to help persons understand that self-management is essential in complimenting the medical management of arthritis.