New York City Hepatitis B Coalition

The NYC Hepatitis B Coalition was founded in 2009 as a city-wide coalition of community based organizations, health care organizations, providers, and others interested in hepatitis B related issues.

Mission: The NYC Hepatitis B Coalition Mission is to coordinate efforts to prevent, manage and reduce hepatitis B among all residents of New York City. The coalition seeks to foster an inclusive collaboration among all stakeholders to advance hepatitis B awareness, screening, access to care, and vaccination through education, outreach, advocacy and support of research.

Founding Organizations: The NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Office of Viral Hepatitis Coordination (OVHC) is dedicated to coordinating city-wide efforts to prevent, control and eliminate viral hepatitis infections in NYC. OVHC collaborates with service providers both within DOHMH and throughout the community, provides the most accurate and current information on viral hepatitis, and develops and enhances programmatic interventions promoting viral hepatitis prevention and care.

The B Free CEED: National Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Hepatitis B Disparities is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded national resource and expert center committed to eliminating hepatitis B disparities in Asian and Pacific Islanders. A partnership of NYU School of Medicine and local and national community, health, and social service organizations, the B Free CEED provides technical assistance, pilot grant funding and conducts hepatitis B related research and evaluation to identify and disseminate evidence-based activities and strategies.

History: In January 2009, the OVHC and B Free CEED held a meeting to discuss the potential benefits of bringing together all New York City hepatitis B programs serving affected populations in order to share resources and unite efforts to create a greater presence and impact in the health and human service arena. The plan for the NYC Hepatitis B Coalition was born.

Dr. Vivek Shinde of the OVHC, and Dr. Simona Kwon of the B Free CEED served as co-chairs of the NYC Hepatitis B Coalition Planning Committee. Key academic institutions, health centers, community organizations, and service agencies who have established hepatitis B programs or activities were identified and invited to participate in the planning group, which met monthly to plan the June 2009 kick off event.

The planning group informed the development of a NYC Hepatitis B Needs Assessment Survey, identified additional organizations to engage in the coalition, developed a mission statement and planned the agenda of the coalition kick off meeting held on June 18, 2009.

Planning Group Organizations: African Services Committee American Cancer Society ~ Asian Initiatives Asian American Hepatitis B program – B-free NYC B Free CEED: National Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Hepatitis B Disparities Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Charles B. Wang Community Health Center Chinese American Medical Society Federation of Chinese American Medical Societies Korean Community Services of Metropolitan NYC, Inc Dr. Martin Luther King Family Health Center Mount Sinai Division of Liver Diseases NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene ~ Division of Disease Control Bureau of Immunization Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Unit Office of Viral Hepatitis Coordination Bureau of Communicable Disease

NYU School of Medicine Russian American Foundation Weill Cornell Medical College