SF Hep B Free Meets with National Leaders in D.C. & Atlanta on Efforts to End Hepatitis B Disease

SF Hep B Free Delegation with Dr. John Ward and staff at Center for Disease Control and Prevention Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia

SF Hep B Free Meets with National Leaders in D.C. & Atlanta

on Efforts to End Hepatitis B Disease

Focus on targeting hard-to-reach at-risk communities, using Health Information Technologies for prevention, and collaborating with other cities nationwide

San Francisco, CA— A delegation from SF Hep B Free led by Honorary Chairperson Fiona Ma and Chairperson Dr. Stuart Fong met with Congressional leaders, and leaders from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington DC and the U.S. Centers for Disease control in Atlanta

The SF Hep B Free delegation advocated for continued increases in commitment, support and collaboration for Hep B prevention efforts.

“We are heartened by the national leadership for ending viral hepatitis disease in America,” said Honorary Chairperson Fiona Ma, “and we are excited to explore more ways for sharing the Hep B Free model of mobilizing collective action for sustainable prevention efforts to end Hep B disease.”

“We are building on the principles and tools of the Affordable Care Act to reach underrepresented and underserved communities, and are utilizing health information technologies to measure and improve Hep B prevention practices,” added Dr. Stuart Fong, Chairperson of SF Hep B Free.

In particular, the delegation focused on three areas:

·         Implementing the CDC grant program for early identification of hepatitis B (HBV) infection and linkage to care with particular targeting of underrepresented and underserved Asian sub populations at-risk, and enhanced data-collection for ethnicity and post-test follow up activities

·         Utilizing health information technologies (HIT) to implement HBV prevention measures. The U.S. Office of Minority Health is supporting efforts in San Francisco with the Chinese Hospital and Northeast Medical Services, and SF Hep B Free is coordinating efforts with similar HIT implementation happening with Hep Free Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific Health in Kauai

·         Increasing collaboration among cities for National Hepatitis Testing Day. SF Hep B Free and the AsianWeek Foundation are working with the National Viral Hepatitis Round Table and CBS Local Media to coordinate efforts in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City.

The delegation met with:

·         Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader 

·         U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono

·         Congresswoman Judy Chu, Chair of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

·         Congressman Mike Honda, Founder of Congressional Hepatitis Caucus

·         Congresswoman Jackie Speier

·         Congressman Adam Schiff

·         Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth

·         Dr. Ron Valdiserri, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health

·         Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health

·         Dr. John Ward, Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis at

NCHHSTP, CDC

·         Audrey Buehring, Deputy Director & Kate Moraras, Senior Advisor on Health, Office of White House Initiatives on AAPI

Members of the delegation for SF Hep B Free included:

·         Fiona Ma, Honorary Chair of SF Hep B Free Governance Council and former Speaker pro Tempore-CA State Assembly

·         Stuart Fong, Chair of SF Hep B Free Governance Council and Director at Chinese Hospital

·         Ted Fang, Vice Chair of SF Hep B Free Governance Council and Executive Director of AsianWeek Foundation

·         Ron Smith, member of SF Hep B Free Governance Council and Senior Vice President, Hospital Council of Northern and Central California

·         Genevieve Jopanda, Executive Director for SF Hep B Free

L to R: Genevieve Jopanda, SF Hep B Free Executive Director,  Stuart Fong, SF Hep B Free Governance Council Chair,  Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader , Ted Fang, Co-Founder and SF Hep B Free Governance Council Vice Chair, Ron Smith, Governance Council Member and Senior Vice President of Hospital Council of Northern and Central California

L to R: Ted Fang, Co-Founder and SF Hep B Free Governance Council Vice Chair, Stuart Fong, SF Hep B Free Governance Council Chair, U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (HI), Genevieve Jopanda, SF Hep B Free Executive Director, Ron Smith, Governance Council Member and Senior Vice President of Hospital Council of Northern and Central California

L to R:  Ted Fang, Co-Founder and SF Hep B Free Governance Council Vice Chair, Stuart Fong, SF Hep B Free Governance Council Chair, Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA), Genevieve Jopanda, SF Hep B Free Executive Director, Ron Smith, Governance Council Member and Senior Vice President of Hospital Council of Northern and Central California

L to R: Ron Smith, Governance Council Member and Senior Vice President of Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, Genevieve Jopanda, SF Hep B Free Executive Director, Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mayra Alvarez, Office of Minority Health, Nicole Dickelson, Office of Minority Health

About San Francisco Hep B Free:

San Francisco Hep B Free promotes collaboration between government, healthcare groups, community organizations and businesses to end viral hepatitis B disease. The campaign was launched in San Francisco and serves as a model nationally for (1) creating public and healthcare provider awareness about the importance of testing & vaccinating Asian and Pacific Islanders for hepatitis B; (2) promoting routine hepatitis B screenings and vaccinations within the primary care medical community; and (3) facilitating access to treatment for chronically infected individuals. For more info, please go to www.sfhepbfree.org

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