The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), the nation’s leading health organization solely dedicated to osteoporosis and bone health, announced the addition of two thoughtful new leaders to its newly designated Mission department, underscoring the organization’s commitment to delivering quality educational programming for patients and healthcare professionals. Samantha Mayberry joins NOF as the Associate Director of Patient Education, Engagement and Advocacy and Ami Patel joins as the Associate Director of Professional Education and Medical Affairs.
With an estimated 10 million Americans suffering from osteoporosis and another 44 million with low bone mass, studies estimate that one in two women and up to one in four men will break a bone due to osteoporosis in their lifetime. Many of these fractures can be prevented with early intervention, yet too many people neglect their bone health until after they suffer a fracture and many patients are treated and released after fracturing without being tested or treated for osteoporosis.
“At NOF, improving patient care, providing support for those who have broken bones due to osteoporosis, and educating the public on ways to prevent osteoporosis and build strong bones for life, are at the forefront of everything we do,” said Claire Gill, Chief Mission Officer of NOF. “I am thrilled to welcome Samantha and Ami to our team and am confident that their expertise in patient and professional education and outreach will advance our efforts to ensure patients and healthcare professionals have the support and information they need to manage all aspects of osteoporosis – from prevention to diagnosis and treatment.”
Ms. Mayberry brings a deep expertise and passion for patient engagement to NOF. As the Associate Director of Patient Education, Engagement and Advocacy, she will be responsible for creating patient-centric education, programming, communications and advocacy strategies that are designed with the health and dignity of patients in mind. She will also help to develop and launch a Patient Reported Outcomes Database (new and the first of its kind for osteoporosis).
She joins NOF from FasterCures, a Center of the Milken Institute, where she focused on best practices for patient foundation-led registries and coordinated events, including Partnering for Cures, an event that brought together decision makers from across medical research sectors to form partnerships and discuss solutions for pressing issues across biomedicine.
As NOF’s Associate Director of Professional Education and Medical Affairs, Ms. Patel will be responsible for ensuring the organization appropriately addresses the educational needs of healthcare professionals at all levels and in all disciplines that monitor and treat osteoporosis. She will also work with experts to support an innovative research portfolio and build and manage NOF’s new, interactive community of practice program in 7-10 U.S. cities.
Prior to joining NOF, Ms. Patel worked at a variety of nonprofit and higher education organizations in the healthcare sector. Most recently, she worked for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she was a Research Business Manager. There, she managed a research portfolio of more than 200 accounts and supported more than 30 Principal Investigators. Prior to that, she worked as a Research Project Manager for Susan G. Komen where she managed a grants portfolio of more than 600 grants for the largest private source for breast cancer research grants in the world.
To learn more about NOF’s patient and healthcare professional education efforts, please visit www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org.
About the National Osteoporosis Foundation
Established in 1984, the National Osteoporosis Foundation is the nation’s leading health organization dedicated to preventing osteoporosis and broken bones, promoting strong bones for life and reducing human suffering through programs of awareness, education, advocacy and research. For more information on the National Osteoporosis Foundation, visit www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org.