Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | House Speaker website
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Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks at the 2010 annual Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Summit hosted by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and the Congressional Democratic Leadership this morning in the Capitol Visitor Center. The theme for this year’s summit is "Strengthening our Economy: Job Creation in AAPI Communities." Below are the Speaker’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
"We have come together today during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - an opportunity to honor the extraordinary contributions made by the Asian American and Pacific Islander community to our culture, economy, and history.
"Overcoming decades of prejudice and discrimination, those from Asia and the Pacific Islands have become essential threads in the fabric of American society. And in San Francisco, we see the contributions to our heritage firsthand.
"In medicine, law, and business, the AAPI community demonstrates the value of hard work and responsibility. As soldiers and public servants, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have an unyielding commitment to our country, our diverse heritage, and our common future.
"The AAPI community faces the same challenges as all Americans: finding a steady job, gaining a strong education for our children, and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to realize their American dream.
"In this Congress, our number one priority remains creating good-paying jobs for every American. And for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, fulfilling that promise means focusing on small businesses.
"The success of AAPI business owners exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit at the center of our economic strength: more than 1.1 million AAPI-owned businesses in the U.S., earning more than $330 billion per year and employing more than 2.2 million workers.
"To empower these business owners and ensure their stability and growth, we passed:
* The Recovery Act, which has:
o Created up to 2.8 million jobs so far,
o Jumpstarted lending to small businesses
o Ensured that minority-and women-owned businesses have the opportunity to win their fair share of contracts funded by the bill
* The HIRE Act - providing tax cuts for small businesses to hire workers
* Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act - small business tax relief.
"We must do more. Regardless of background, all Americans deserve a shot at a good job and a decent wage. Democrats will keep promoting an agenda focused on jobs for the middle class and the growth of our small businesses - the engines of our economic prosperity.
"Few achievements will benefit AAPI families and businesses more than comprehensive health insurance reform.
"Without reform, more than 17 percent of Asian Americans would continue to go without health coverage, and more than half would delay or forgo routine care due to high costs.
"With reform in place, all communities will see a difference: improving access to affordable care; helping end health disparities; keeping families healthy; giving small businesses a tax credit up to 35 percent of premiums this year; and ensuring the success of the fight for a country free of such public health concerns as Hepatitis B, which affects the AAPI community at a higher rate than other groups.
"The fight for equality and opportunity will go on - for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and for every American. In Congress, we will continue to work for better schools to train the next generation of workers and leaders; a fairer, more compassionate, more just immigration system; greater diversity in the workplace - starting right here on Capitol Hill, where we were proud to kick off an initiative to increase House diversity and opportunities for diverse candidates at all staff levels.
"As a representative of a district with a large AAPI population, I have always said that the beauty is in the mix, and I salute the work of CAPAC to make progress on behalf of all Americans."
# # #
Showing posts with label People: Nancy Pelosi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People: Nancy Pelosi. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
City-wide Campaign Becomes National Hep B Model
By Fia Curley
Article on U.S. HHS Office of Minority Health website
Download PDF | OMH Homepage screenshot | OMH Article screenshot
National recognition, high-profile partnerships, in-kind donations and non-stop media buzz have the grassroots Hep B Free San Francisco Campaign looking attractive.
But if the campaign somehow lost momentum and funding dried up, organizers on the volunteer task force say they would still be working to spread the message: Hepatitis B can be eradicated.
"Nobody came into this campaign because of money," said Dr. Samuel So, director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University. "A lot of people don't actually do anything unless they're funded. We feel this is the right thing to do for the community and whether we get funded or not, we're going to do it."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at SF hep B Free press conference.
The Jade Ribbon campaign started in San Francisco in 2001 with the goal of testing and vaccinating San Francisco residents for hepatitis B. Since then the campaign has morphed into Hep B Free SF, spread in popularity in the Bay Area and across the country and gained national recognition, highlighted by a press conference in October with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Dr. Garth Graham. Federal representatives and government officials are now looking to replicate the program in cities with high Asian-American populations.
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver and can be passed through bodily fluids via blood transfusions, sexual intercourse or tattoos or acupuncture with unclean equipment.
The virus causes yellowing of the skin, aching muscles and joints, fatigue and loss of appetite. But for people with chronic Hepatitis B, which often doesn't cause symptoms and is transmitted from mother to child, the end result can be liver cancer and death.
The campaign's intention has been to emphasize the positive messages surrounding testing through diverse outlets in order to drive more people to their own doctors for screening, vaccination and monitoring.
And now in the second phase of Hep B Free, organizers are encouraging people to visit a doctor who tests for Hep B and touting a clinician honor roll - to harness doctors' competitive nature - that will advertise a list of doctors who perform the test in major area newspapers.
Tests and subsequent vaccinations create the possibility of curbing the No. 1 health disparity in the Asian-American community.
"We really need to seize on this opportunity to address this health problem, which in the past has never received any attention," said So, a surgeon and self-proclaimed "passionate, evidenced-based advocate," who's found that some health professionals are not aware of what tests to administer for Hepatitis B.
"We have to go back to the ABC's of Hepatitis," he said. "This is a disease we can't assume they know."
The fact that not all clinicians in the Bay Area are aware of the need for Hepatitis B screening has become increasingly apparent to Dr. Lisa Tang, a primary care physician for Kaiser Permanente, who balances more than two thousand patients and has worked with the campaign for the past two years.
"It's not a standard of care with hepatitis B screenings and that's why people are not doing it," Tang said. "The risk to liver cancer is real, but is it on people's radar?"
And although Tang readily admits to moving at frenetic pace, she's determined to tackle the topic of physician awareness as she heads the clinicians outreach committee.
"Personally as an Asian American I find l do have a responsibility to do this and to make this change," Tang said. "Being a physician you change life one at a time, but for me to be able to act as a physician leader and change the behavior of my colleagues and to change how they practice — I think that implication can do so much good for the common good."
However, eradicating the virus from the entire city has taken more than a few partners in the health community.
"A lot of initiatives only work with community health centers but that's not representative of the whole community," So said. "You need everybody involved. We reached across the aisle to all the groups. So in a way it really created the opportunity for city-wide implementation and adoption."
Partnerships include the San Francisco Giants, City College of San Francisco, DAE Advertising, and Office of California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. About 40 percent of partners are not health care organizations.
The campaign was modeled after a social movement with intentional decentralized collaboration and an approach that would be embraced by Asian cultures, according to Janet Zola, health promotions specialist of Communicable Diseases for the San Francisco Health Department.
"The thing about Hep B is we have everything we need to put this in a box," said Zola, founder of the San Francisco Immunization Coalition. "What we're lacking is public awareness by the general population of why this is important. It was clear we needed everyone involved to take true ownership of this."
With at least five major cities poised to adopt and adapt the Hep B Free campaign, original members in San Francisco are looking toward the challenge of bringing clinicians on board to enact their multifaceted approach.
"We had a much bigger picture from the beginning," said Ted Fang, director of Asian Week Foundation and fellow board member whose expertise resides in diversity issues. "We want the onus to be on the patients and the clinicians."
As billboards, bus ads and radio PSAs remind residents to ‘Be a Hero,' Fang continues to see the possibilities of the movement. From the original small dinner of ideas and listening ears in 2007 to use of the Hep B Free logo and adoption by other cities, the goal of making San Francisco the first Hepatitis B-free city is something he sees as obtainable.
"I do see it as a turning point in the history of the Asian-American community," he said, although he is quick to add, "we're not done yet - the great thing about this project is that it has an ending."
While the campaign seems to be "taking on a life of its own" Fang continues to remind people that this is a goal they must all work toward.
"We can eradicate this disease; we will eradicate this disease; someday it will be eradicated," Fang said. "When hepatitis B is eradicated, there will be a book written. And when that book is written it will say it started with the Asian-American community."
Fia Curley is a writer for the OMHRC. Comments? Email: fcurley@omhrc.gov
Article on U.S. HHS Office of Minority Health website
Download PDF | OMH Homepage screenshot | OMH Article screenshot
National recognition, high-profile partnerships, in-kind donations and non-stop media buzz have the grassroots Hep B Free San Francisco Campaign looking attractive.
But if the campaign somehow lost momentum and funding dried up, organizers on the volunteer task force say they would still be working to spread the message: Hepatitis B can be eradicated.
"Nobody came into this campaign because of money," said Dr. Samuel So, director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University. "A lot of people don't actually do anything unless they're funded. We feel this is the right thing to do for the community and whether we get funded or not, we're going to do it."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at SF hep B Free press conference.The Jade Ribbon campaign started in San Francisco in 2001 with the goal of testing and vaccinating San Francisco residents for hepatitis B. Since then the campaign has morphed into Hep B Free SF, spread in popularity in the Bay Area and across the country and gained national recognition, highlighted by a press conference in October with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Dr. Garth Graham. Federal representatives and government officials are now looking to replicate the program in cities with high Asian-American populations.
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver and can be passed through bodily fluids via blood transfusions, sexual intercourse or tattoos or acupuncture with unclean equipment.
The virus causes yellowing of the skin, aching muscles and joints, fatigue and loss of appetite. But for people with chronic Hepatitis B, which often doesn't cause symptoms and is transmitted from mother to child, the end result can be liver cancer and death.
The campaign's intention has been to emphasize the positive messages surrounding testing through diverse outlets in order to drive more people to their own doctors for screening, vaccination and monitoring.
And now in the second phase of Hep B Free, organizers are encouraging people to visit a doctor who tests for Hep B and touting a clinician honor roll - to harness doctors' competitive nature - that will advertise a list of doctors who perform the test in major area newspapers.
Tests and subsequent vaccinations create the possibility of curbing the No. 1 health disparity in the Asian-American community.
"We really need to seize on this opportunity to address this health problem, which in the past has never received any attention," said So, a surgeon and self-proclaimed "passionate, evidenced-based advocate," who's found that some health professionals are not aware of what tests to administer for Hepatitis B.
"We have to go back to the ABC's of Hepatitis," he said. "This is a disease we can't assume they know."
The fact that not all clinicians in the Bay Area are aware of the need for Hepatitis B screening has become increasingly apparent to Dr. Lisa Tang, a primary care physician for Kaiser Permanente, who balances more than two thousand patients and has worked with the campaign for the past two years.
"It's not a standard of care with hepatitis B screenings and that's why people are not doing it," Tang said. "The risk to liver cancer is real, but is it on people's radar?"
And although Tang readily admits to moving at frenetic pace, she's determined to tackle the topic of physician awareness as she heads the clinicians outreach committee.
"Personally as an Asian American I find l do have a responsibility to do this and to make this change," Tang said. "Being a physician you change life one at a time, but for me to be able to act as a physician leader and change the behavior of my colleagues and to change how they practice — I think that implication can do so much good for the common good."
However, eradicating the virus from the entire city has taken more than a few partners in the health community.
"A lot of initiatives only work with community health centers but that's not representative of the whole community," So said. "You need everybody involved. We reached across the aisle to all the groups. So in a way it really created the opportunity for city-wide implementation and adoption."
Partnerships include the San Francisco Giants, City College of San Francisco, DAE Advertising, and Office of California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. About 40 percent of partners are not health care organizations.
The campaign was modeled after a social movement with intentional decentralized collaboration and an approach that would be embraced by Asian cultures, according to Janet Zola, health promotions specialist of Communicable Diseases for the San Francisco Health Department.
"The thing about Hep B is we have everything we need to put this in a box," said Zola, founder of the San Francisco Immunization Coalition. "What we're lacking is public awareness by the general population of why this is important. It was clear we needed everyone involved to take true ownership of this."
With at least five major cities poised to adopt and adapt the Hep B Free campaign, original members in San Francisco are looking toward the challenge of bringing clinicians on board to enact their multifaceted approach.
"We had a much bigger picture from the beginning," said Ted Fang, director of Asian Week Foundation and fellow board member whose expertise resides in diversity issues. "We want the onus to be on the patients and the clinicians."
As billboards, bus ads and radio PSAs remind residents to ‘Be a Hero,' Fang continues to see the possibilities of the movement. From the original small dinner of ideas and listening ears in 2007 to use of the Hep B Free logo and adoption by other cities, the goal of making San Francisco the first Hepatitis B-free city is something he sees as obtainable.
"I do see it as a turning point in the history of the Asian-American community," he said, although he is quick to add, "we're not done yet - the great thing about this project is that it has an ending."
While the campaign seems to be "taking on a life of its own" Fang continues to remind people that this is a goal they must all work toward.
"We can eradicate this disease; we will eradicate this disease; someday it will be eradicated," Fang said. "When hepatitis B is eradicated, there will be a book written. And when that book is written it will say it started with the Asian-American community."
Fia Curley is a writer for the OMHRC. Comments? Email: fcurley@omhrc.gov
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Speaker Pelosi Says Hepatitis B Prevention at Core of Healthcare Reform
November 4, 2009
Connie Zheng | AsianWeek.com
SAN FRANCISCO - In her first public appearance since the health care reform bill rollout last Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the need for community-based health care reform in a press conference at the Chinese Hospital on Oct. 31, highlighting the San Francisco Hep B Free campaign as a model for the nation.
With one in ten Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus, Hep B Free is a citywide campaign to turn San Francisco into the nation's first city free of the disease.
Joined by local, state and federal officials, community and health care leaders, citizen activists, corporate executives and family associations, Pelosi lauded the Hep B Free campaign's success as an inspiration and blueprint for the national campaign.
"It certainly would not be possible without the local leadership as models for us in San Francisco," Pelosi said. "The campaign has led thousands of individuals to get screened and treated."
Hepatitis B is responsible for up to 80 percent of all liver cancers worldwide, and AAPIs have the highest rates of liver cancer for any racial or ethnic group.
"The Hep B campaign hits the core of our national drive for health insurance," Pelosi said. "The hepatitis B virus is preventable and treatable. Yet too many in the AAPI community across the nation suffer from this disease. We must protect everyone from hepatitis B."
Pelosi underscored the need for culturally sensitive health care that ends discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions, such as hepatitis B. The end of this type of discrimination is one of the proposed bill's three main principles, along with affordable health care and fiscal responsibility.
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma has chronic hepatitis B infection and is a leading advocate for legislation to reduce the disease.
"Hepatitis B is a pre-existing condition," Ma said. "We desperately need policy reform to make sure nobody gets kicked off health insurance for pre-existing conditions."
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) echoed Pelosi's sentiment regarding health care discrimination at the press conference.
"It is very appropriate that we send a message to everyone in the city that you have nothing to fear about hepatitis B," Speier said. "Pre-existing conditions will no longer be a fear for anyone, whether they have hepatitis B, HIV, cancer, or bunions - you name it."
Additionally, Pelosi discussed how the proposed reforms will remove health disparities among ethnic communities, such as hepatitis B, the greatest health disparity for Asians.
"With reform in place when we pass this legislation, the AAPI community will have access to treatments, the vaccine, screening and care that will help end those disparities, keep families healthy, and ensure our success in fighting hepatitis B and making San Francisco a hepatitis B-free city."
The spotlight on health disparities affecting ethnic communities, such as hepatitis B for Asian Americans, is part of a growing national awareness from health care reform to the White House.
On Oct. 14, President Obama re-established the advisory commission and White House initiative created by President Clinton ten years ago to address concerns affecting AAPIs. While acknowledging the many contributions of AAPI communities to the country, Obama recognized the challenges faced by AAPIs in health disparities like hepatitis B.
"The more than 16 million AAPIs across our country have helped build a strong and vibrant America," Obama said. "It's tempting, given the strengths of AAPI communities, for us to buy into the myth of the ‘model minority,' and to overlook the very real challenges that certain AAPI communities are facing: from health disparities like higher rates of diabetes and hepatitis B."
Under the House Democrats' proposed health care legislation, the government will give new grants for prevention and wellness services to communities with special emphasis on health disparities, expand coverage for vaccines, and eliminate co-payments and deductibles for preventive services such as the hepatitis B vaccine.
"We will have an opportunity in San Francisco and across the country to change our health insurance system for the better, whether it's making this city as a hepatitis B-free city or expanding access to quality, affordable, accessible health care for all Americans," Pelosi said.
Dr. Garth Graham, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the department supported a national strategy aiming to address the issues of prevention of new infections by promoting screening, immunization, education; promotion of early detection; appropriate follow-up and clinical management of individuals with chronic hepatitis B infection with linguistically and culturally appropriate prevention care and treatment; and increased awareness and support of hepatitis B and liver cancer research among national and state policymakers.
"We recognize chronic hepatitis B's disproportionate impact on the AAPI community is a national problem," Graham said.
Since the San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign's inception in 2007, the campaign has developed significant partnerships with over 50 public and private health care organizations, businesses, and educational institutions, as well as Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. It has created seven low-cost public access hepatitis B screening and vaccination sites.
"Our goal is to try to get everyone screened and tested in San Francisco," Ma said. "We wanted to spread the message we can eradicate hepatitis B, just like smallpox. But we had no money when we started, just a goal. Now two and a half years later, all our community partners, public and private hospitals, doctors, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations and the community have gotten together to ensure that everyone can get screened, tested and treated here in San Francisco."
The campaign's success has inspired other communities to follow its model.
"It is a model that is being replicated in San Mateo, San Jose, Orange County and Los Angeles," Ma said. "We believe that we are on the way to a movement."
Graham lauded the campaign's use of community partnerships, academia, community-based organizations and local government to increase education and awareness and recommended adoption of its model as part of a national strategy.
"The San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign is an excellent demonstration of what the Department of Health and Human Services is trying to see happen across the country," Graham said. "We want to broaden this model, use it as a model of community engagement and go across the country in terms of national strategy."
Pelosi added that it was no surprise the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would look to San Francisco for leadership and to take its success as a blueprint for the national campaign.
Officials and leaders urged the public to get tested, treated and vaccinated for hepatitis B at the press conference.
"We are so fortunate in spite of the extraordinary infection rates that there is a hepatitis B vaccine that the World Health Organization has called the world's first anti-cancer vaccine," said Senator Mark Leno.
"It is treatable, it is preventable, we can eradicate it," Ma said. "We just need everybody's help."
David Chiu, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President, voiced the hope that the day will soon come when San Francisco will be a hepatitis B-free city.
"We are all here today united in the Hep B Free Campaign," Chiu said. "Chinatown in San Francisco is the Asian American capital of not just our city, not just California, but the entire country. Half of the deaths that arise from hepatitis B come from our community. This is our disease, this is our campaign, and this is our cause."
Pelosi urged everyone to "take the (Hep B Free) campaign theme to heart: B a Hero. See a doctor who tests for Hepatitis B."
******************
About San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign:
The San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign is a "first-in-the-nation" effort calling on the collaboration of a wide spectrum of organizations to educate the public about the health risks of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and to promote routine HBV screenings and vaccinations for the city's Asian and Pacific Islander (API) population. For more information, please visit www.sfhepbfree.org.
About the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV):
Hepatitis B is a serious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that can lead to acute illness and chronic infection including cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. It is a silent killer affecting approximately 1.4 million Americans, of which more than half are of API descent.
HBV is an epidemic within San Francisco's API community. An estimated one in ten APIs have an undiagnosed infection. APIs are up to 100 times more likely to suffer from chronic HBV infection and four times more likely to die from liver cancer compared with the general population. Hepatitis B is responsible for 80 percent of all liver cancers among APIs, who have the highest rates of liver cancer for any racial or ethnic group. San Francisco's liver cancer rate is the highest in the U.S.
Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV and is easily transmitted - from an infected mother to her child at birth, through unprotected sex or by contaminated blood.
For more information, please visit www.sfhepbfree.org.
Connie Zheng | AsianWeek.com
SAN FRANCISCO - In her first public appearance since the health care reform bill rollout last Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the need for community-based health care reform in a press conference at the Chinese Hospital on Oct. 31, highlighting the San Francisco Hep B Free campaign as a model for the nation.
With one in ten Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus, Hep B Free is a citywide campaign to turn San Francisco into the nation's first city free of the disease.
Joined by local, state and federal officials, community and health care leaders, citizen activists, corporate executives and family associations, Pelosi lauded the Hep B Free campaign's success as an inspiration and blueprint for the national campaign.
"It certainly would not be possible without the local leadership as models for us in San Francisco," Pelosi said. "The campaign has led thousands of individuals to get screened and treated."
Hepatitis B is responsible for up to 80 percent of all liver cancers worldwide, and AAPIs have the highest rates of liver cancer for any racial or ethnic group.
"The Hep B campaign hits the core of our national drive for health insurance," Pelosi said. "The hepatitis B virus is preventable and treatable. Yet too many in the AAPI community across the nation suffer from this disease. We must protect everyone from hepatitis B."
Pelosi underscored the need for culturally sensitive health care that ends discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions, such as hepatitis B. The end of this type of discrimination is one of the proposed bill's three main principles, along with affordable health care and fiscal responsibility.
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma has chronic hepatitis B infection and is a leading advocate for legislation to reduce the disease.
"Hepatitis B is a pre-existing condition," Ma said. "We desperately need policy reform to make sure nobody gets kicked off health insurance for pre-existing conditions."
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) echoed Pelosi's sentiment regarding health care discrimination at the press conference.
"It is very appropriate that we send a message to everyone in the city that you have nothing to fear about hepatitis B," Speier said. "Pre-existing conditions will no longer be a fear for anyone, whether they have hepatitis B, HIV, cancer, or bunions - you name it."
Additionally, Pelosi discussed how the proposed reforms will remove health disparities among ethnic communities, such as hepatitis B, the greatest health disparity for Asians.
"With reform in place when we pass this legislation, the AAPI community will have access to treatments, the vaccine, screening and care that will help end those disparities, keep families healthy, and ensure our success in fighting hepatitis B and making San Francisco a hepatitis B-free city."
The spotlight on health disparities affecting ethnic communities, such as hepatitis B for Asian Americans, is part of a growing national awareness from health care reform to the White House.
On Oct. 14, President Obama re-established the advisory commission and White House initiative created by President Clinton ten years ago to address concerns affecting AAPIs. While acknowledging the many contributions of AAPI communities to the country, Obama recognized the challenges faced by AAPIs in health disparities like hepatitis B.
"The more than 16 million AAPIs across our country have helped build a strong and vibrant America," Obama said. "It's tempting, given the strengths of AAPI communities, for us to buy into the myth of the ‘model minority,' and to overlook the very real challenges that certain AAPI communities are facing: from health disparities like higher rates of diabetes and hepatitis B."
Under the House Democrats' proposed health care legislation, the government will give new grants for prevention and wellness services to communities with special emphasis on health disparities, expand coverage for vaccines, and eliminate co-payments and deductibles for preventive services such as the hepatitis B vaccine.
"We will have an opportunity in San Francisco and across the country to change our health insurance system for the better, whether it's making this city as a hepatitis B-free city or expanding access to quality, affordable, accessible health care for all Americans," Pelosi said.
Dr. Garth Graham, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the department supported a national strategy aiming to address the issues of prevention of new infections by promoting screening, immunization, education; promotion of early detection; appropriate follow-up and clinical management of individuals with chronic hepatitis B infection with linguistically and culturally appropriate prevention care and treatment; and increased awareness and support of hepatitis B and liver cancer research among national and state policymakers.
"We recognize chronic hepatitis B's disproportionate impact on the AAPI community is a national problem," Graham said.
Since the San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign's inception in 2007, the campaign has developed significant partnerships with over 50 public and private health care organizations, businesses, and educational institutions, as well as Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. It has created seven low-cost public access hepatitis B screening and vaccination sites.
"Our goal is to try to get everyone screened and tested in San Francisco," Ma said. "We wanted to spread the message we can eradicate hepatitis B, just like smallpox. But we had no money when we started, just a goal. Now two and a half years later, all our community partners, public and private hospitals, doctors, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations and the community have gotten together to ensure that everyone can get screened, tested and treated here in San Francisco."
The campaign's success has inspired other communities to follow its model.
"It is a model that is being replicated in San Mateo, San Jose, Orange County and Los Angeles," Ma said. "We believe that we are on the way to a movement."
Graham lauded the campaign's use of community partnerships, academia, community-based organizations and local government to increase education and awareness and recommended adoption of its model as part of a national strategy.
"The San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign is an excellent demonstration of what the Department of Health and Human Services is trying to see happen across the country," Graham said. "We want to broaden this model, use it as a model of community engagement and go across the country in terms of national strategy."
Pelosi added that it was no surprise the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would look to San Francisco for leadership and to take its success as a blueprint for the national campaign.
Officials and leaders urged the public to get tested, treated and vaccinated for hepatitis B at the press conference.
"We are so fortunate in spite of the extraordinary infection rates that there is a hepatitis B vaccine that the World Health Organization has called the world's first anti-cancer vaccine," said Senator Mark Leno.
"It is treatable, it is preventable, we can eradicate it," Ma said. "We just need everybody's help."
David Chiu, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President, voiced the hope that the day will soon come when San Francisco will be a hepatitis B-free city.
"We are all here today united in the Hep B Free Campaign," Chiu said. "Chinatown in San Francisco is the Asian American capital of not just our city, not just California, but the entire country. Half of the deaths that arise from hepatitis B come from our community. This is our disease, this is our campaign, and this is our cause."
Pelosi urged everyone to "take the (Hep B Free) campaign theme to heart: B a Hero. See a doctor who tests for Hepatitis B."
******************
About San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign:
The San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign is a "first-in-the-nation" effort calling on the collaboration of a wide spectrum of organizations to educate the public about the health risks of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and to promote routine HBV screenings and vaccinations for the city's Asian and Pacific Islander (API) population. For more information, please visit www.sfhepbfree.org.
About the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV):
Hepatitis B is a serious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that can lead to acute illness and chronic infection including cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. It is a silent killer affecting approximately 1.4 million Americans, of which more than half are of API descent.
HBV is an epidemic within San Francisco's API community. An estimated one in ten APIs have an undiagnosed infection. APIs are up to 100 times more likely to suffer from chronic HBV infection and four times more likely to die from liver cancer compared with the general population. Hepatitis B is responsible for 80 percent of all liver cancers among APIs, who have the highest rates of liver cancer for any racial or ethnic group. San Francisco's liver cancer rate is the highest in the U.S.
Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV and is easily transmitted - from an infected mother to her child at birth, through unprotected sex or by contaminated blood.
For more information, please visit www.sfhepbfree.org.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Pelosi Press Conference - The China Press (侨报）
透露医保改革新版本议案大有改善
佩洛西到中国城推广防乙肝
Download PDF | View article online
国会众议院议长佩洛西（前）在中国城东华医院参与乙肝防治的推广宣传。（侨报记者刘海平摄）
【侨报记者刘海平10月31日旧金山报道】国会众议院议长佩洛西周六上午出现在旧金山中国城的东华医院中，参与乙肝防治的推广宣传。她表示，即将于本周在众议院表决的健保改革新版本议案能够有效解决乙肝病患投保无门的状况。
国会众议员斯佩尔、州参议员兰诺、州众议员马世云、旧金山市议会主席邱信福、议员朱嘉文、“旧金山乙肝防治运动”倡导人方以代、东华医院院长何国杰、中华总会馆主席团成员、旧金山卫生部门代表云集在当日的推广会中。
全美的亚太裔民众，平均每十个人中有一人感染乙肝病毒或者患有乙肝。乙肝导致的肝癌已经成为美国亚太裔的第二号杀手。佩洛西说，毫无疑问，美国疾病与预防控制中心（CDC）将以旧金山为楷模，参照我们的成功作为一场全国性防治运动的蓝图。乙肝防治的成果让成千上万的美国人接受了检测和治疗，这也是重点所在。佩洛西还赞扬方以代等人多年来将“乙肝防治运动”推广得深入人心。
对于众议院议员们即将审阅的最新版本健保议案，佩洛西称之为“透过召开会议和征求选民意见，大有改善的版本”，新版本中规定健康保险公司不能将健康状态不佳的患者“扫地出门”，这能切实帮助乙型肝炎病患等群体。
佩洛西还提到，“公共选择”（Public Option）的提法让一些人误以为是由纳税人负担的选择，其实应该称为“消费者选择”才恰如其分，因为这是一种真正给予投保人自主权的选择。
马世云多年前检查出自己是乙肝病毒携带者后，便开始在亚太裔社区积极推广肝病的预防与治疗工作。
她期望在下次访问中国期间，有机会和中国探讨乙肝防治工作的合作前景。马世云指出，奥巴马总统提出了“健康差异” (Health Disparities)的概念，全美亚太裔的乙肝发病率如此之高，需要政府投入更多资金、给予更多关注，以及用更多的教育来消除乙肝。她认为，中国能够在帮助在美国乙肝防治的过程中扮演重要角色。
佩洛西到中国城推广防乙肝
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国会众议院议长佩洛西（前）在中国城东华医院参与乙肝防治的推广宣传。（侨报记者刘海平摄）
【侨报记者刘海平10月31日旧金山报道】国会众议院议长佩洛西周六上午出现在旧金山中国城的东华医院中，参与乙肝防治的推广宣传。她表示，即将于本周在众议院表决的健保改革新版本议案能够有效解决乙肝病患投保无门的状况。
国会众议员斯佩尔、州参议员兰诺、州众议员马世云、旧金山市议会主席邱信福、议员朱嘉文、“旧金山乙肝防治运动”倡导人方以代、东华医院院长何国杰、中华总会馆主席团成员、旧金山卫生部门代表云集在当日的推广会中。
全美的亚太裔民众，平均每十个人中有一人感染乙肝病毒或者患有乙肝。乙肝导致的肝癌已经成为美国亚太裔的第二号杀手。佩洛西说，毫无疑问，美国疾病与预防控制中心（CDC）将以旧金山为楷模，参照我们的成功作为一场全国性防治运动的蓝图。乙肝防治的成果让成千上万的美国人接受了检测和治疗，这也是重点所在。佩洛西还赞扬方以代等人多年来将“乙肝防治运动”推广得深入人心。
对于众议院议员们即将审阅的最新版本健保议案，佩洛西称之为“透过召开会议和征求选民意见，大有改善的版本”，新版本中规定健康保险公司不能将健康状态不佳的患者“扫地出门”，这能切实帮助乙型肝炎病患等群体。
佩洛西还提到，“公共选择”（Public Option）的提法让一些人误以为是由纳税人负担的选择，其实应该称为“消费者选择”才恰如其分，因为这是一种真正给予投保人自主权的选择。
马世云多年前检查出自己是乙肝病毒携带者后，便开始在亚太裔社区积极推广肝病的预防与治疗工作。
她期望在下次访问中国期间，有机会和中国探讨乙肝防治工作的合作前景。马世云指出，奥巴马总统提出了“健康差异” (Health Disparities)的概念，全美亚太裔的乙肝发病率如此之高，需要政府投入更多资金、给予更多关注，以及用更多的教育来消除乙肝。她认为，中国能够在帮助在美国乙肝防治的过程中扮演重要角色。
Sunday, November 1, 2009
ABC 7 News – San Francisco Hep B Free – Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Assemblywoman Fiona Ma
ABC 7 News story on Speaker of the House Pelosi’s address, along with Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, on the need for community based healthcare reform highlighting the example of San Francisco Hep B Free (sfhepbfree.org), a comprehensive campaign to prevent liver cancer resulting from hepatitis B. Approximately 1 in 10 Asian American Pacific Islanders (APIs) in San Francisco has an undiagnosed case of hepatitis B. San Francisco has the highest rate of liver cancer in the nation. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma – who was born with and is chronically infected with hepatitis B. They addressed how fear of pre-existing condition exclusions discourages people from taking measures to prevent liver cancer, and how SF Hep B Free is addressing this issue.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Pelosi Remarks at Hep B Free Press Conference in San Francisco
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
Source: http://www.house.gov/pelosi/press/releases/Oct09/hepb.html
Download PDF
Washington, D.C. – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered keynote remarks at the Hep B Free Press Conference in San Francisco. Elected officials and community leaders gathered together to discuss the important work of the Hep B Free campaign at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco. Below are the Speaker's remarks as prepared:
San Francisco has long been a model for the nation in innovation. It is a source of the latest trends in academia, science, and medicine. It is here that we can find the best hospitals and top doctors, cutting edge research and new advances in medical treatments. It is no coincidence that San Francisco and our Chinese-American community would stand as a model for the fight against Hepatitis B. It is no surprise that the CDC would look to San Francisco for leadership and tout our success as a blueprint for a national campaign. The Hep B Free effort has led thousands to get screened and treated. They’ve taken this campaign’s theme to heart – “Be a Hero” – and seen a doctor who tests for Hepatitis B.
The Hepatitis B Virus is preventable and treatable; yet too many in the Asian American/Pacific Islander community and across the country suffer from this disease. People like Assemblywoman [Fiona] Ma are living proof that we can lead healthy lives with this disease. She would also be the first to remind everyone that a vaccine exists and treatments are available. We must protect ourselves from Hepatitis B.
The Hep B Free campaign hits at the core of our national drive for health insurance reform. Serious health disparities among minority communities represent a critical challenge in the debate over reform. The Hepatitis B virus impacts the Asian American/Pacific Islander community at a higher rate than any other group in the U.S. One in 10 AAPI Americans are chronically infected with Hep B. More than half of the 1.4 million Americans infected are Asian-Pacific Islander Americans. With reform in place, the AAPI community will have access to the treatments, vaccines, screening, and care that will help end health disparities, keep families healthy, and ensure the success of the fight for a Hep B Free city.
Our health insurance reform legislation will: end discrimination for pre-existing conditions – Americans suffering with chronic conditions, like Hep B, face higher costs and less access because they have a “pre-existing condition.” With reform, this will no longer be the case. Emphasize preventive care – new grants to states to provide prevention and wellness services to communities, with a special emphasis on health disparities, expanded coverage for vaccines, eliminates co-pays and deductibles for preventive services, such as the Hepatitis B vaccine and screening. Educate patients – gives individuals and families the tools to make informed decisions about medical care, boosts access to needed treatments, ensures consumers understand the risks and rewards of preventive care and treatments. Ensure comprehensive care – Hepatitis B patients will receive the care and services they need to beat this disease, high-risk populations will have access to preventive treatments, vaccines, and screenings.
We have an opportunity – here in San Francisco and across the country – to change our health insurance system for the better. Whether it’s making this a Hep B Free city or expanding access to quality, affordable medical care for all Americans, every step forward makes a difference. Thank you for joining in this effort.
Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
Source: http://www.house.gov/pelosi/press/releases/Oct09/hepb.html
Download PDF
Washington, D.C. – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered keynote remarks at the Hep B Free Press Conference in San Francisco. Elected officials and community leaders gathered together to discuss the important work of the Hep B Free campaign at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco. Below are the Speaker's remarks as prepared:
San Francisco has long been a model for the nation in innovation. It is a source of the latest trends in academia, science, and medicine. It is here that we can find the best hospitals and top doctors, cutting edge research and new advances in medical treatments. It is no coincidence that San Francisco and our Chinese-American community would stand as a model for the fight against Hepatitis B. It is no surprise that the CDC would look to San Francisco for leadership and tout our success as a blueprint for a national campaign. The Hep B Free effort has led thousands to get screened and treated. They’ve taken this campaign’s theme to heart – “Be a Hero” – and seen a doctor who tests for Hepatitis B.
The Hepatitis B Virus is preventable and treatable; yet too many in the Asian American/Pacific Islander community and across the country suffer from this disease. People like Assemblywoman [Fiona] Ma are living proof that we can lead healthy lives with this disease. She would also be the first to remind everyone that a vaccine exists and treatments are available. We must protect ourselves from Hepatitis B.
The Hep B Free campaign hits at the core of our national drive for health insurance reform. Serious health disparities among minority communities represent a critical challenge in the debate over reform. The Hepatitis B virus impacts the Asian American/Pacific Islander community at a higher rate than any other group in the U.S. One in 10 AAPI Americans are chronically infected with Hep B. More than half of the 1.4 million Americans infected are Asian-Pacific Islander Americans. With reform in place, the AAPI community will have access to the treatments, vaccines, screening, and care that will help end health disparities, keep families healthy, and ensure the success of the fight for a Hep B Free city.
Our health insurance reform legislation will: end discrimination for pre-existing conditions – Americans suffering with chronic conditions, like Hep B, face higher costs and less access because they have a “pre-existing condition.” With reform, this will no longer be the case. Emphasize preventive care – new grants to states to provide prevention and wellness services to communities, with a special emphasis on health disparities, expanded coverage for vaccines, eliminates co-pays and deductibles for preventive services, such as the Hepatitis B vaccine and screening. Educate patients – gives individuals and families the tools to make informed decisions about medical care, boosts access to needed treatments, ensures consumers understand the risks and rewards of preventive care and treatments. Ensure comprehensive care – Hepatitis B patients will receive the care and services they need to beat this disease, high-risk populations will have access to preventive treatments, vaccines, and screenings.
We have an opportunity – here in San Francisco and across the country – to change our health insurance system for the better. Whether it’s making this a Hep B Free city or expanding access to quality, affordable medical care for all Americans, every step forward makes a difference. Thank you for joining in this effort.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SPEAKER PELOSI ADDRESSES COMMUNITY BASED HEALTHCARE REFORM; Calls for Bay Area Businesses to Help Prevent Liver Cancer
Download PDF 
WHAT:
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will address the need for community based healthcare reform highlighting the example of San Francisco Hep B Free (sfhepbfree.org), a comprehensive campaign to prevent liver cancer resulting from hepatitis B. Approximately 1 in 10 Asian American Pacific Islanders (APIs) in San Francisco has an undiagnosed case of hepatitis B. San Francisco has the highest rate of liver cancer in the nation.
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma - who is chronically infected with hepatitis B - is among those who will join the Speaker. They will address how fear of pre-existing condition exclusions discourages people from taking measures to prevent liver cancer, and how SF Hep B Free is addressing this issue. They also will request the partnership of the Bay Area's largest and most well-known businesses in helping to address hepatitis B.
WHO:
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, a chronic hep B patient
Congresswoman Jackie Speier
Dr. Garth Graham, Director of Office Minority Health
David Chiu, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President
Jim Wunderman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bay Area Council
Ted Fang, AsianWeek Foundation, SF Hep B Free Campaign member
WHEN: Saturday, October 31, 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Chinese Hospital - 845 Jackson Street, San Francisco 94133
VISUALS:
• Individuals getting tested for hepatitis B
• Colorful lion dance troupe
• Guests include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma
• Interviews with San Francisco Hep B Free spokespersons, physicians, Hep B
patients, community and healthcare leaders
RSVP: Ayaka Emoto
ayaka@allisonpr.com - (o): 415-277-4915 - (c): 650-339-0470
###
ABOUT HBV: APIs are disproportionately impacted by Hepatitis B. It is a disease of the liver caused by HBV, a virus often called a "silent killer" because it can cause liver cancer, cirrhosis or liver failure without producing symptoms. Eighty percent of liver cancer in APIs is caused by HBV. But it's preventable with a simple vaccine.
ABOUT SF Hep B Free: SF Hep B Free (sfhepbfree.org) is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between city government, private healthcare and community organizations. The goal of the citywide campaign is to eradicate hepatitis B in San Francisco by screening, testing and vaccinating all API residents.
WHAT:
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will address the need for community based healthcare reform highlighting the example of San Francisco Hep B Free (sfhepbfree.org), a comprehensive campaign to prevent liver cancer resulting from hepatitis B. Approximately 1 in 10 Asian American Pacific Islanders (APIs) in San Francisco has an undiagnosed case of hepatitis B. San Francisco has the highest rate of liver cancer in the nation.
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma - who is chronically infected with hepatitis B - is among those who will join the Speaker. They will address how fear of pre-existing condition exclusions discourages people from taking measures to prevent liver cancer, and how SF Hep B Free is addressing this issue. They also will request the partnership of the Bay Area's largest and most well-known businesses in helping to address hepatitis B.
WHO:
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, a chronic hep B patient
Congresswoman Jackie Speier
Dr. Garth Graham, Director of Office Minority Health
David Chiu, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President
Jim Wunderman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bay Area Council
Ted Fang, AsianWeek Foundation, SF Hep B Free Campaign member
WHEN: Saturday, October 31, 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Chinese Hospital - 845 Jackson Street, San Francisco 94133
VISUALS:
• Individuals getting tested for hepatitis B
• Colorful lion dance troupe
• Guests include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma
• Interviews with San Francisco Hep B Free spokespersons, physicians, Hep B
patients, community and healthcare leaders
RSVP: Ayaka Emoto
ayaka@allisonpr.com - (o): 415-277-4915 - (c): 650-339-0470
###
ABOUT HBV: APIs are disproportionately impacted by Hepatitis B. It is a disease of the liver caused by HBV, a virus often called a "silent killer" because it can cause liver cancer, cirrhosis or liver failure without producing symptoms. Eighty percent of liver cancer in APIs is caused by HBV. But it's preventable with a simple vaccine.
ABOUT SF Hep B Free: SF Hep B Free (sfhepbfree.org) is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between city government, private healthcare and community organizations. The goal of the citywide campaign is to eradicate hepatitis B in San Francisco by screening, testing and vaccinating all API residents.
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