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Health advocacy groups this time of year step up the lobbying just like everyone else.

Some health groups at the Virginia General Assembly this week include:

•The Lupus Foundation of America Greater Washingtonhosts its first Virginia Advocacy Day on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Supporters of the Lupus Foundation will host a coffee for legislators and their staff members from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and make one-on-one visits.

They want state legislators to designate May as lupus awareness month to coincide with the national lupus awareness month.

The Greater Washington groups hosts regular lupus support group meetings in the Richmond area.

The lobbying is also an effort to raise awareness, said Penny Fletcher, the chapter’s president and chief executive officer.

“What we realize is people aren’t aware of it until they get a diagnosis,” she said. Many patients end up going from four to five doctors over two to three years before getting a diagnosis.
Symptoms can include fatigue, unexplained fever, hair loss, and a butterfly-shaped rash on the face. Most people diagnosed are women between the ages of 18 and 44, which leads many to suspect there is a hormonal connection, said Fletcher.

There is hope in a new drug Benlysta, that has shown promise in clinical trials, said Fletcher.

•The Virginia Nurses Association and supporters will do their annual mass rally at the legislature Wednesday, Feb. 3. At approximately 2 p.m., the nurses will march from the Richmond Marriott at 5th and Broad streets downtown to the capitol, where they will meet with legislators.

The VNA’s 2010 policy agenda is posted on the organization’s Web site.