Our History

In the spring of 2004, inspired by the impetus of the first United States Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (USCOPD) Coalition, Dr. Thomas L. Petty brought together a committee consisting of patients and professionals from the University of Colorado, National Jewish Health, the American Lung Association of Colorado, other healthcare institutions and medical equipment providers. The committee soon became the Colorado COPD Connection and, over the past years, has organized and implemented a grassroots educational day featuring well-known speakers in the fields of pulmonology, long-term oxygen therapy and equipment, and other topics of interest to the Lung Health Community.

In 2006 members of the Colorado COPD Connection and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment established the first State COPD Coalition. The Colorado COPD State Plan and Surveillance Report has served as a prototype for many of the other State COPD Coalitions. In 2009 the annual Conference was officially designated as the “Thomas L. Petty, MD Moving Mountains Lung Health Conference.”

In 2012 the Colorado COPD Connection changed their name to the Colorado Lung Health Connection (CLHC) in order to be more inclusive of all lung diseases. 2012 was also the year to carry out another of Dr. Petty’s visions— The CLHC assisted in organizing a group of patients and physicians on the western slope, who planned and implemented the first ever Moving Mountains Conference in Grand Junction.