Tracy Hart will serve the National Health Council (NHC) as the organization's 2016 board of directors chairperson.
Hart, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, heads the Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) Foundation. OI, a congenital condition in which the bones are brittle and prone to fractures, is also known as brittle bone disease or Lobstein syndrome. The foundation raises funds for OI research and education programs.
Areas of focus for NHC in the coming year will include working to improve health insurance marketplaces, so patients living with chronic conditions can receive proper coverage; implementing programs so patient input is considered when medical products are developed or regulated; and working in tandem with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and U.S. Food and Drug Administration in legislation and policies related to health care.
Additionally, Hart chairs the Rare Bone Disease Patient Network. She co-founded the Bone Coalition for Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases and is a member of the National Institutes of Health’s Federal Working Group on Bone. She is on the advisory council for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
Representatives from more than 100 national health-related organizations and businesses are part of the NHC.
