About VDF : Our History
The Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) was founded in 1998 by Dennis Newman, a pioneer in ultrasound technology. Dennis built a successful company producing Doppler devices for detecting, among other medical issues, vascular disease. Dennis knew that the public and most medical professionals were unaware of many diagnostic and treatment options for vascular disease. This lack of knowledge really hit home when his cousin lost a leg to vascular disease. Dennis did what anyone would do to help a family member; he began to contact his network of medical professionals in search of information about vascular disease. It didn’t take long for him realize that few resources were available for people suffering from this often silent and most certainly debilitating disease. So, Dennis did what few are able to do, he formed the Vascular Disease Foundation. Today, Dennis serves VDF as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In our short history, we have connected with many prominent vascular medicine societies and we regularly attend their annual meetings as well as include their representatives on our Board of Directors (since 2000).
Here’s a brief timeline of some of our major milestones:
- VDF hires a part time executive director and launches its Web site in 1999. That same year, the IRS granted VDF preliminary 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Donations to The Foundation became tax deductible at that time.
- In 2000 we published our first newsletter, Keeping in Circulation. Today, our newsletter is published quarterly in full color and is free for the asking. In less than four years, our mailing list has grown to include over 12,000 medical professionals, individuals with vascular disease, and friends of VDF. Our toll free telephone number, 1-866-PAD-INFO was also established in 2000.
- In 2001, we initiated a meeting with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to discuss ways of increasing PAD awareness. We launched a Colorado PAD Awareness Campaign and over 2.5 million people heard our message. We provided information at over 400 Legs for Life screening events resulting in more than 1,000 new subscriptions to Keeping in Circulation. Our first four color brochure about PAD was published this year.
- Our ever popular Web site was expanded to include information on critical limb ischemia and Buerger’s disease in 2002. Our 2nd annual Colorado PAD awareness campaign was held and we collaborated locally and nationally on public awareness events.
- In 2003 we planned and coordinated with the NHLBI the PAD Public Awareness workshop and we attended the Peripheral Vascular Health Summit.
- In 2004, our PAD brochure was translated into Spanish and we published a brochure titled, “Focus on Blood Clots.” Our newsletter is now printed in full color and our Web site is undergoing an upgrade to better accommodate our growing audience.
- Today, we continue to work with 15 other organizations on the national PAD awareness campaign and anticipate the public unveiling of the campaign in early 2006. We moved into new office space on January 1.
Since its inception in 1998, the Vascular Disease Foundation has shown steady growth in its ability to reach out to the general public and medical professionals alike and continues to provide timely and accurate information about vascular disease. We remain your most trusted source for information on vascular disease.
