A Brighter Future
Thank You for Attending the 2024 DCC!
We are deeply grateful for the incredible turnout and enthusiastic participation at this year’s debra Care Conference. It was remarkable to witness such a committed community of individuals living with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), their families, researchers, and advocates coming together to share knowledge, support, and hope.
Your presence and contributions have made a significant impact. The insights, conversations, and connections forged during the conference will undoubtedly advance our collective efforts to improve the lives of those affected by EB.
A heartfelt thank you to all the speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and attendees who made this event possible. Together, we continue to make EB even better understood and more effectively treated.
We look forward to seeing you at future events. Stay tuned for updates on the conference highlights and upcoming initiatives!
Warm regards,
The debra of America Team
Save the Date for the Next DCC!
We’re excited to announce that the next debra Care Conference will be held in Los Angeles, California in the summer of 2026. Additional details and exact dates forthcoming as we continue to plan this inspiring event. We look forward to seeing you there!
Explore Past Conferences
Watch Now: 2024 DCC Recorded Sessions!
Over 40 sessions from the 2024 debra Care Conference in Atlanta, GA were recorded and are available to watch on EBConnect.org. Topics covered include the genetics of EB, chronic wound care management, EB eye care, research updates and many more!
Please note that you must have an EB Connect account to watch the videos. Sign up is FREE!
The 2024 DCC welcomed nearly 750 attendees —a record-breaking number! Among them were 50 national experts and 13 leading research partners in the Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) space presenting the latest in EB care and advancements. The event was enriched by the inspiring keynote from U.S. FDA leadership and marked by an extraordinary level of engagement and enthusiasm, with over 30 community members personally impacted by EB contributing their insights and sharing their experiences on stage. Attendees enjoyed a diverse range of activities, including four interactive learning stations that provided hands-on experiences, three evening socials, and six live shows designed to entertain and engage our littlest attendees.
We are deeply grateful to the incredible speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and attendees who contributed their time and expertise to make this event a success. The insights, conversations, and connections forged during the conference will undoubtedly advance our collective efforts to improve the lives of those affected by EB.
View Photos from the 2024 DCC:
- Lectures & Panel Sessions - coming soon!
- Welcome Remarks and Reception
- Karaoke Night
- Night of Champions - coming soon!
- Kids Rooms
This special 4-day event was held July 17-20, 2022, and offered over 57 educational lectures, panel discussions and workshops covering best practices in EB care management, strategies to address the emotional and financial challenges EB may bring, and peer-to-peer support groups for those with EB, caregivers and siblings. 68 speakers were featured, including leading EB experts across a wide range of medical specialties, national and international researchers in the EB space, and community members from across country sharing their personal insights and experiences.
View Photos from the 2022 DCC:
The debra Care Conference moved to a virtual platform in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All events and session recordings from the 2020 Virtual DCC are available to view on EBConnect.org. Sign-up is free and open to all those directly impacted by EB.
debra of America proudly brought together over 650 attendees from the EB Community for the debra Care Conference (DCC) on July 22-25, 2018. The world’s leading Epidermolysis Bullosa experts along with individuals and families affected by EB had an unforgettable experience of 4 days of learning, sharing and fun. Academic researchers and organizations who conducted research into treatments and a cure for EB presented their latest in EB research; bandage manufacturers & distributors demonstrated their products and services; and leading medical professionals from a range of specialties shared the best practices in EB care. Most importantly, the conference allowed those impacted by EB to meet new families and reconnect with others from around the country.
The 2016 debra Care Conference (formerly PCC) was held at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, TX, just outside of Dallas. This 4-day conference was a tremendous success for the families, physicians, researchers and exhibitors in attendance. A total of nearly 600 people listened to presentations and discussions on the latest in EB care, wound care products, clinical trials, and promising research towards a cure.
Thank you to all who attended the 2014 Patient Care Conference, including our speakers, sponsors, and volunteers who helped make the event possible. The 2014 conference was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, TN, an all indoor, temperature-controlled hotel. In 2014, debra was able to provide assistance to 16 families to attend the PCC. For many, this was the first time they got to meet other families with Epidermolysis Bullosa.
View the 2014 PCC Agenda & Speakers List
Watch the 2014 PCC Video
At the 2012 PCC, we learned about EB, new trends in care, and heard the latest research initiatives and updates from top researchers and clinicians. This conference was held at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, FL. Children enjoyed various exciting activities in the three Kids Rooms. Our attendees reconnected with families they already knew, met new ones, and saw Facebook friends in person for the first time. The debra staff had an amazing time learning and laughing with each and every one of our attendees!
View the 2012 PCC Agenda
Watch the 2012 PCC Video
The 2010 Patient Care Conference was a collaboration between debra and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center EB clinic led by Dr. Richard Azizkhan and Dr. Anne W. Lucky. Without their help and cooperation, the conference would not have been such an outstanding success.
The first researcher to speak was John E. Wagner, M.D. from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Wagner and his team have been studying the use of stem cells to treat children with severe EB, RDEB and the junctional forms of EB, with significant successes. Dr. Wagner took questions from the audience who were pleased to get the information right from the source, as his research offers some hope towards a cure for EB. On Thursday, the speakers’ topics ran the gamut from Wound Care Advances, Camps and Recreation, Rare Disease Legislation, Sexual and Emotional Health, Cell based therapies for DEB and Insurance Issues. Hollister Wound Care sponsored a trip to the Newport Aquarium Thursday evening. Everyone loaded into our donated school buses (thank you to First Student, Inc. for your generosity) and headed to the Aquarium. Once they got inside the aquarium it was like they had stepped into a wonderland. It was such a wonderful experience that even the grownups were awestruck by some of the odd and beautiful creatures, the scary sand eels, the mesmerizing jelly fish, the stalking sharks and the ever-hilarious penguins. It was a long and memorable day, with one more day to go.
On Friday, the last day, many important topics were covered. Nutrition and EB, Pain Management, Genetic Counseling, G-Tubes, Dilatations and GI Issues. Everyone listened to the last of the researchers explain their different approaches. All are working towards the same end, a cure for EB.
This year’s experiment with individual consultations with the doctors was a success and we hope to expand the program in 2012. The Debra team along with Tim Brown were able to get lots of photos to do some new brochures and the Kids room was a success, with the kids making gifts for their Dads for Father’s Day. Everyone exchanged emails, phone numbers, and addresses and the last photos were taken. As Friday wound down one could feel the shift in mood as everyone started thinking about heading home. The next morning at Saturday’s continental breakfast we reflected on the previous few days and said our goodbyes to friends new and old alike.
