Jefferson Urology and the AUA Department members have prominent roles in the Urology Care Foundation. In 1987, the American Urologic Association (AUA) established the American Foundation for Urological Disease (AFUD), with the goal to support research professionals through grant programs, clinical trials and publishing. AFUD was renamed The Urology Care Foundation (UFC) in 2012. The Foundation has two functions, to support urological research (Research Council) and be the premier provider and resource for the most current, comprehensive and reliable urologic health information for patients and the public (Public Education Council). The Public Education Council advises the UCF Board on matters requiring medical and scientific judgement, and develops urology specific patient /public educational information, material and videos. There are six committees in this council covering the entire urological landscape (Prostate Health, Pediatric Health, Bladder Health, Kidney and Adrenal Health, Reproductive and Sexual Health, and Technology and Publications Committee). Several members of our Department are actively engaged in these important AUA activities. Dr. Sonny Figueroa, Professor of Urology and Pediatrics and Chief of Pediatric Urology at AI DuPont served as the Chair of the Public Education Council from 2018 to 2020. This position was first held by the current immediate Past President of the AUA, Dr. John Lynch. Dr. Ahmad Bani Hani, also a Jefferson pediatric urology faculty member based at AI Dupont and a member of the Pediatric Health Committee since 2016, is now the new Chair of the Pediatric Health Committee. Anne Calvaresi, DNP, CRNP, RNFA, a member of the Council since 2016, is the new Chair of the Prostate Health Committee, the first advanced practice provider to hold a leadership role in the Urology Care Foundation.
Pictured top to bottom: Dr. Sonny Figueroa, Dr. Ahmad Bani Hani, and Anne Calvaresi, DNP, CRNP, RNFA.
14
Year in Review
The Patient & Research Advocacy team at the American Urological Association (AUA) leads a coalition, the Bladder Health Alliance (BHA) founded in 2013 with the aim to raise awareness and reduce stigma about conditions impacting bladder health. Since 2013, the BHA has broadened its scope to include research advocacy efforts, managing stigma, access to medical supplies, and more. Additionally, the group
has expanded participants to include more than 30 patient, physician, and research advocacy organizations. These organizations convene annually for a full-day program that comprises networking and discussion topics of interest to the community. As part of this year’s virtual meeting, there was a panel entitled, “A Comprehensive Approach to Informed Decision Making.” As a member of the Urology Care Foundation’s Prostate Health committee, Anne Calvaresi was asked to take part in the panel and provide insight specific to how prostate cancer models for informed decision making can be transferred into the bladder space. This virtual meeting was held on Thursday, October 8, 2020. Anne Calvaresi also recently hosted an AUA Urology health podcast addressing what to know about prostate cancer during the COIVD-19 pandemic. LIVING HEALTHY COOKBOOK WITH INFORMATION ABOUT UROLOGIC CANCERS Last year the Urology Care Foundation published the Living Healthy Cookbook with information about Urologic Cancers as a service to patients, health care professionals and the public. This was cookbook designed to help patients think about what they eat and to help with meal selection when dealing with cancer. It is designed for the common urologic cancers: bladder, kidney, prostate and testis. Dr. Sonny Figueroa served as
