Primed and Ready to Grow: Oley’s Vision for 2025

Beth Gore, PhD | CEO of the Oley Foundation

"I wish I had found Oley sooner! " This is one of the most common things we hear from people once they discover The Oley Foundation. In 2025, we are making it our mission to change that. Our theme for this year— Primed and Ready to Grow—is more than just our conference slogan; it’s our focus for 2025.

Expanding Our Reach: Finding and Supporting Patients Sooner

One of our top priorities is identifying and reaching more people on nutrition support earlier in their journey. Who is on tube feeding or parenteral nutrition (PN)? Where are they? How can we connect with them sooner? From the moment someone begins tube feeding or PN, there are clinicians, members of the industry, and other key players who could help connect them with Oley. We are developing targeted resources to streamline this process and make it easier for patients to find their community of support faster.

Expanding in Education: More Resources, More Access

Quality education that is both peer-reviewed and patient-friendly is essential. In 2025, we’re expanding our educational efforts by:

• Increasing the number of resources we offer, ensuring patients and caregivers have access to the most up-to-date and reliable information.

• Offering education in more formats to meet different learning needs.

• Translating resources into Spanish to reach more people in diverse communities.

• Updating current resources and filling in the gaps so that information is accessible in the right scope and sequence for comprehension.

• We’ve hired Education Manager, Kalee Eichelberger, MS, RD, LE/N, CNSC, CHES

Expanding in Community: More Support, More Connection

Support is at the heart of everything we do, and in 2025, we are growing our community efforts by:

• Increasing the frequency of our virtual and in-person meetups, starting with our first in-person Regional Conference March 22, 2025 in Columbus, OH. Register at oley.org/page/regionals.

• Expanding the types of support available, including topic-based peer groups, mentorship programs, and more.

• Relaunching the Oley Ambassador program as a peer to peer support system.

• Hiring Vincent Rosche as the Community Engagement Coordinator. His role will be to be a voice to, of and for those on nutrition support.

• Hiring Shakira Valentin as the Community Care Coordinator. She also helps translate our documents into Spanish, is available for our Spanish speakers who call into Oley, and provides ASL translation.

Expanding in Advocacy: Taking a Proactive Approach

The challenges faced by the nutrition support community—from supply shortages to insurance reimbursement battles—require a strong, proactive approach. In 2025, we are committed to:

• Strengthening our advocacy efforts for better insurance coverage and reimbursement policies.

• Partnering with other organizations and stakeholders to tackle supply chain vulnerabilities and ensure patients have consistent access to essential supplies.

• Engaging patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to amplify our collective voice.

Growing Our Team & Volunteer Network

To achieve all of this, we can’t do it alone. We need passionate volunteers to help make this vision a reality. We need both those with clinical expertise and lived experience in multiple areas. Please complete the volunteer form Clinical Volunteer Form Patient & Caregiver Volunteer Form, and let’s make sure that no one on nutrition support has to navigate this journey alone. Let’s grow Oley—bigger, stronger, and more connected than ever.