We take this opportunity to honor Betty Jean Hall, RN. Betty Jean served as the clinical director and executive director of the Arthritis Research Institute of America for twelve years. A more apt description of her position would be the heart and soul of the Institute as well as the engine that drove what is now the largest study of its kind on osteoarthritis.

Betty Jean possessed a unique combination of talents and abilities. It was obvious to all that she was a caring and experienced nurse, a thrifty and competent administrator and for those of us fortunate enough to work shoulder to shoulder with her, Betty Jean was a thoughtful friend and mentor. She was often heard to say that any manager worth their salt would work themselves right out of a job. Of course she meant that directors should build organizations hardy enough to outlive themselves. ARIA lives on in pursuit of the cause and cure for osteoarthritis.

We continue her work. ARIA now has over 3,500 participants in our Clearwater Osteoarthritis Study and many scholarly research papers published. We invite you to view the synopses of those papers in the Research Updates section of our web site. Betty Jean cultivated an organization dedicated to the long and difficult mission of uncovering the causes of osteoarthritis. The Institute benefits every day from the foundation she laid. She is greatly missed.