2020 Virtual Advocacy Summit

April 2020 marked a decade since we lost Peggy Lillis to a community-acquired C. difficile infection and founded the Peggy Lillis Foundation (PLF) to combat this disease. It also marked our fifth National C. diff Advocacy Summit.

Initially planned to once again be held in Washington, DC, due to COVID-19 PLF moved to a virtual Summit which took place on April 20 – 22, 2020. We had a record 300+ in attendance, including advocates, presenters, health care professionals, sponsors and the public.

Executive Director, Christian John Lillis opened the Summit by sharing significant events and milestones over the past ten years. He highlighted our educational materials accessed by thousands of survivors and their caregivers, and healthcare providers in the US and around the world; wrote and co-wrote several publications; participated nationally and live-streamed interviews and presentations about C. diff, patient safety and awareness, and policy.

Gerard Honig, PLF Board Member shares the latest on C. diff 101

Over the course of the three days, we held eleven main stage presentations, and five breakout sessions on topics surrounding C. diff education and awareness in healthcare, dentistry, and the community. We had outstanding presentations on advocacy and accountability, fundraising and sponsorships, prevention of the disease and vaccine development, as well as the challenges and opportunities during COVID-19. While we could not be together physically, the Summit allowed for plenty of engaging discussions on the essentials of combating C. diff infections!

To watch the presentations and download resources, visit our 2020 Advocates Summit Recap page.

We are grateful to all who participated in our Summit. We are very thankful to the Summit’s sponsors and those who presented and served as panelists.

Sponsors

Speakers and Panelists

Norman Moore, Director of Scientific Affairs, Abbott Diagnostics Business

Diane Flayhart, Global Program Leader, AMR – BD

Christine Carson, PhD, Sr. Research Fellow, Biomedical Sciences, UWA

L. Cliff McDonald, MD, Associate Director for Science, Centers for Disease Control

Preeta Kutty, MD, Medical Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control

Andrew Dané, Sr. Geospatial Consultant (Deloitte), Centers for Disease Control

Tara Montgomery, Founder and Principal, Civic Health Partners

Gerard Honig, PhD, PLF Board Member, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation

Lise Lurienne, PharmD, Global Market Access Manager, Da Volterra

Pierre-Alain Bandinelli, Chief Business Officer, Da Volterra

Michael Broyles, PharmD, Director of Pharmacy and Lab at Five Rivers Medical Center

Kyle Kinner, Government Affairs Lead, Pew Charitable Trusts

Catia Ferreira, PhD, Sr. Director Global Medical Affairs, Pfizer

Christina Fuhrman and Rich Dexter, PLF Board Members

Hans Johnson, President, Progressive Victory

Kevin McDermott, VP Market Access, Summit Therapeutics

Lindy Banke, PharmD, Head of Clinical Development, Rebiotix

Kelly Brady, VP Clinical Operations, Seres Therapeutics

Katie Suda, PharmD, Research Health Scientist, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare

Malavika Tampi, Manager, American Dental Association