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The first meeting of the National Coalition of Chronic Pain Providers & Professionals (NCCPPP) was held on February 20 in Rockville, MD. NCCPPP is a network of health providers, professionals, and organizations dedicated to serving the chronic pain community. Its vision is of a nation where everyone with chronic pain receives optimum treatment, suffering is eased, and healing is routine. As a founding member of NCCPPP, ICA staff, including ICA’s Executive Director, Lee Claassen, and ICA Board member Gina M. Barbarotto attended and participated in this first meeting. Dr. Michael April gave a special presentation on how sleep disturbances contribute to chronic pain, and how they affect one another. Crucially, Dr. April stated that sleep disturbances are the most common complaint of his patients, and that chronic sleep deprivation – a widespread problem for those in chronic pain – can lead to hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain). Importantly, Dr. April emphasized that his goal as a physician treating pain, and others who do so, is not to promise patients 100% relief of their pain, but rather to never give up on them.

For more information about NCCPPP, click here.