PATIENT PARTNER

JIM UHRIG

PaTH Role: Patient Partner

Institution

Patient Partner, UPMC

Profile

My work experience was based in the refractory industry in various sales, marketing and management roles over a span of 45 years. My area of emphasis was developing relationships between various partners or companies, to reach a common goal as measured by sales revenue and growth, for various markets, and specific projects building large, high temperature (up to 3000F+), industrial furnaces. Often time, new or improved products would be needed to be developed through research or creative skills of material or mechanical engineers. Then those ideas would need to be communicated verbally or visually, and often through media or PowerPoint. I did public speaking both as a speaker and manager of technical meetings, developing speakers and visuals, including meeting room, food and beverage, including site selection for such meetings. Additionally, I have run my own business making custom picture frames, which I still do.

In 2008 I was diagnosed with IPF and treated by the Simmons Center at UPMC and received a double lung transplant in April 2009. The partner’s roles that helped me through this journey, are told in my published memoir, Partners 4 Life, published in April 2014, to help increase awareness of IPF and Organ Donors. I have appeared on CBS affiliated TV, Doctor Radio (Sirius 81), Discovery Channel special Every Breath Counts, newspaper articles locally and in Kansas, which was the home of my donor. The presentation of my story is told regularly to various groups, from nurses and medical audiences, and every day to people I meet and express interest in the subject of lung ailments or organ donorship.

I am a golfer and former college football official and a Bethany College graduate with a BS Psychology 1967.

For more information about my research expertise visit my blog Partners 4 Life: https://partners4lifeblog.wordpress.com/

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