Open Airways was founded in 1997 by Liz Boden, Bermuda’s first qualified asthma nurse educator and Trina Godfrey a chartered accountant. The mission was to help over 8,000 people whose lives are affected by asthma.
Open Airways soon recognized the need to not only help those with asthma but also advance the specialist care for the elderly suffering with emphysema and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).
Liz and Trina were learning about the challenges of fund raising and running a charity when in 2005 Open Airways was given a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies. The aim of the grant was NOT to cover the cost of general operating or the charity’s programs but to help find the most cost-effective way to run a charity and to ensure it is sustainable for many years to come.
We were asked to seek expert opinions from professional fundraisers, a system analyzer and those who run respiratory charities in UK. The process took a year and at the end we had a very clear vision as to how we would move forward.
Open Airways coordinates the Island-wide asthma and COPD education for health care professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists and pharmacists known as HCPs). The charity would cover the cost of professional education from the 6-month Internationally renowned Diploma courses in Asthma and COPD to annual Updates and workshops.
