Fall Update 2009
News & Highlights
September 10th, Congressman Cassidy provided welcoming introductory remarks at a summit on hepatitis
entitled, “The Dawn of a New Era: Transforming our Domestic Response to Hepatitis B & C.”
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Webinar: Media 101 - How to Tell Your Story Effectively - and Enjoy Doing It"
In partnership with the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR), NASTAD hosted a webinar featuring Sally Squires, M.S., Director, Health and Wellness Communications, Weber Shandwick. The webinar included strategies for developing effective media messaging and working with the media.
View slide presentation in PDF format »
By Lorren Sandt
Special to Roll Call
Nov. 6, 2009, 1:06 p.m.
While lawmakers, budget experts and health care policy gurus have long known that chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and cancer threaten to overwhelm our health care system, too few in Washington, D.C., have recognized that chronic liver disease deserves to be part of the conversation. Left unchecked, chronic liver disease stemming from hepatitis B and hepatitis C is projected to cost our nation's health care system more than $85 billion annually within 15 years and ravage minority populations, including millions within the African-American, Latino and Asian-American communities. Read more »
Landmark Legislation to Increase Public Awareness of Disease Impacting Over 5 Million Americans
Read Press Release »
Webinar: CDC Division of Viral Hepatitis Prevention Branch Update
In partnership with the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR), NASTAD hosted a webinar featuring Geoff Beckett, PA-C, MPH, Chief of the Prevention Branch, CDC Division of Viral Hepatitis. The webinar included updates on the Program Operations, Training and Education and Research and Evaluation Teams of CDC Division of Viral Hepatitis.
An Update from CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis, Prevention Branch
Meeting Description:
RESCHEDULED WEBINAR
An Update from CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis,
Prevention Branch
Friday,
October 16, 2009 - 2:00 PM ET
Geoff Beckett, Chief, Prevention Branch, CDC Division of Viral Hepatitis,
will provide an overview of the Prevention Branch including updates
on activities from: the Program Operations Team (Adult Viral Hepatitis Prevention
Coordinator Program and the Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Initiative), the
Viral Hepatitis Education and Training team, and the Viral Hepatitis Research
and Evaluation Team.
If you would like to attend this call, please register
below before Wednesday, October 14. Registration for this webinar is
required. Once you register, you will receive confirmation and details for
logging into the webinar.
Register Now
Presenter Information
Geoff Beckett, PA-C, MPH
Geoff Beckett PA-C, MPH, is the Prevention Branch Chief at the CDC Division
of Viral Hepatitis. Prior to his arrival at CDC in 2008, he served as the
Assistant State Epidemiologist for Maine where he spent almost 20 years in
the state health department working on a variety of state and national viral
hepatitis issues, including development of surveillance systems for chronic
hepatitis, building coalitions with professionals and community advocates
to pass legislation expanding sterile syringe access in Maine, and in improving
medical education on diagnosis and appropriate care of HBV and HCV infections.
Geoff served as lead consultant on viral hepatitis for the Council of State
and Territorial Epidemiologists and was a consultant to CDC in development
of the 1998 Recommendations for the Prevention and Control of HCV Infection
and Chronic Disease. He received his MPH at Johns Hopkins in 1988 and is
a doctoral candidate in International Health at Boston University.
Moderated by Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor is the Senior Manager, Viral Hepatitis for the National Alliance
of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD). In this role, he provides
support and technical assistance to state health department viral hepatitis
programs, advocates on their behalf with the Administration, Congress and
Federal agencies. He is actively involved in several national hepatitis advocacy
coalitions, having served as Chair of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable
(NVHR), and currently is the North American delegate to the World Hepatitis
Alliance. Mr. Taylor has 14 years of experience working in public health
on viral hepatitis, HIV, STD, tuberculosis and immunization at the local,
state and national level.
Physician Congressman Speaks at NVHR Congressional Briefing
On September 9, 2009 NVHR hosted a Congressional briefing, “The
Experts' Perspective: Gaps and Strategies in the Hepatitis Crisis.” The
briefing, held in the Cannon House office building, was a full house!
Renowned hepatitis physicians Ana Lok and Eugene Schiff were joined
by the Honorable William Cassidy, (R – LA), who presented his
unique perspective as a Member of Congress and a physician who has
treated patients with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. The three spoke
to educate Congress on the importance of developing a national strategy,
including supportive legislation, to reduce the significant morbidity
and mortality from end-stage liver disease and liver cancer caused
by chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C in the United States.
Prior to his election to public office, Congressman Cassidy was an
associate professor of medicine with Louisiana State University. He
provided hepatitis care for uninsured patients and taught doctors in
training at Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge. Dr. Lok is the Director
of Clinical Hepatology, and Associate Chair for Clinical Research in
the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical
Center, Ann Arbor. Dr. Schiff directs the Schiff Liver Institute and
is the Director of the Center for Liver Diseases at the University
of Miami School of Medicine, and is a Professor of Medicine at the
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Following the physician
presentations, newly elected NVHR Steering Committee member, Michael
Ninburg, the Executive Director of the Hepatitis Education Project
in Seattle, Washington, spoke from the patients’ perspective
about the importance of early diagnosis and care for viral hepatitis.
Andrew Muir, MD, an NVHR Steering Committee member and the Clinical
Director of Hepatology at Duke University Medical Center, was the moderator
for the presentations.
Special guests at the briefing included: The Honorable Charles Dent
(R-PA), The Honorable Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA), and The
Honorable David Wu (D-OR).
NVHR Participates in National Hepatitis Summit
On September 10, 2009, NVHR Director, Martha Saly, and Steering Committee
members, Lorren Sandt and Joan Block, participated in a panel discussion
during the national hepatitis summit, “The Dawn of a New Era:
Transforming our Domestic Response to Chronic Viral Hepatitis B and
C—Prevention, Screening, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Access to
Care.” This unique meeting brought together hepatitis B and C
providers and advocates and instigated timely discussion about the
importance of creating a coordinated response to viral hepatitis in
the United States. The panel, moderated by Chris Taylor, also a member
of the NVHR Steering Committee, addressed strategies for the prevention
of chronic viral hepatitis infections. The panelists highlighted the
importance of sound public health policies to address the hepatitis
crisis. Other panelists included Tracy Swan (Treatment Action Group),
Corinna Dan (Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations)
and Denton Chase (Asian Health Foundation), whose organizations are
all NVHR members. Among the points made by the panelists were the need
for quality hepatitis care in community health centers, lifting the
Federal ban on funding for syringe exchange, and improving access to
hepatitis B and C testing and hepatitis B immunization. The lively
discussion was quite complimentary to the medical and scientific presentations
occurring during the summit and elicited both interest and supportive
comments from the physicians and other providers in the audience.
NVHR
Steering Committee Elects Officers
At its September 17th meeting, the NVHR Steering Committee installed
officers to serve for one-year terms. The Executive Committee members
are: Lorren Sandt (Caring Ambassadors Program), Chair; Jeff Caballero
(AAPCHO) Vice Chair; Dennis Simon (Hepatitis C Association), Treasurer;
and Joan Block (HBV Foundation), Secretary. Additionally, newly elected
Steering Committee members, Michael Ninburg (Hepatitis Education Project),
and Ryan Clary (Project Inform) were installed. NVHR thanked L.J. Tan
and Steve Graham, outgoing members, for their service, and Chris Taylor
for his term as Chair.
Hepatitis B Foundation Podcasts
Visit the Hepatitis B Foundation website
at www.hepb.org to download newsworthy
Podcasts about issues important
to all those interested in hepatitis B. View our wide
selection that includes
expert speakers and podcasts of Foundation sponsored events (i.e. our
Congressional Briefing and B Informed Patient Conferences) that are
available to listen from our website or via download to your computer or
MP3 player. Keep checking back for new uploads!
New to podcasting? Click on
our help
tab for easy directions.
Caring Ambassadors Program Webinar Series
The Caring Ambassadors Program in partnership with the National Viral
Hepatitis Roundtable and Hepatitis C Advocates United is pleased to
announce our new Webinar series. Each month we will be hosting an interactive
educational webinar on viral hepatitis. We hope you will actively participate
as we collectively augment our knowledge base from experts in the field.
