The Caring Ambassadors Program uses a unique approach in our work to address the elimination of viral hepatitis and specifically hepatitis C.

Our three main methods to combat hepatitis C are to Empower patients and providers to increase their knowledge of hepatitis C to improve access a cure; to Educate systems and communities on how to integrate viral hepatitis services into existing programming; and to Advocate on behalf of patients and communities to create sound policy, funding and messaging. We are honored to serve the community to help eliminate the largest infectious disease outbreak of our time; we promise to be BOLD in our approach to creating paths to health and making hepatitis C history.

The time is now. 71 million people worldwide are living with chronic Hepatitis C right now. It is the largest chronic infectious disease outbreak of our time…and it’s curable. Talk to your doctor about treatment for your Hepatitis C, and don’t take no for an answer.

MY CHOICES© is a tool to help you recognize and act upon what you can control in your health care journey to achieve optimal healing, regardless of the illness you face. It contains elements of a guide book, health planner, journal, and activity book to help orient you to and plan for the journey ahead.

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Order Educational Materials. Caring Ambassadors Program believes that knowledge is power. We strive to empower patients, systems and communities to increase their knowledge of hepatitis C in effort to eliminate the largest infectious disease outbreak of our time.

Weekly News Update.
Caring Ambassadors Program provides 3 weekly news updates covering Lung Cancer News, Hepatitis C News, and My Choices^© Update. Receive them delivered weekly to your inbox.

Weekly News Update

Hepatitis C News
Week Ending September 20, 2021

Health department offers treatments for Hepatitis C
“It’s been three years since the Carteret County Health Department started its Hepatitis C treatment program, and 122 patients have completed treatment. That may not seem like much, but it can take up to eight months to finish treatments, depending on the medication used, according to health department family nurse practitioner Jessica Harris.”

Effects of Short vs Standard Course Therapy With Sofosbuvir-Velpatasvir in Patients With Heptatitis C Virus
“In patients with recently diagnosed hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a 6-week course of therapy with sofosbuvir-velpatasvir appeared to be less effective compared with standard 12-week therapy, according to results of a study published in the Journal of Hepatology.”

Prompt attention and action is the need of the hour to limit hepatitis
“Hepatitis is major health concern especially in developing and under developed countries. In fact, greater awareness about viral hepatitis is critical to limit the spread and subsequently to eradicate the condition from our country.”

Predicting Which Patients Will Develop HCC After HCV Treatment
“The Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) score may be a useful marker for predicting which patients with hepatitis C treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) will go on to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to a study published in Molecular and Clinical Oncology.”

What to know about testing for hepatitis
“Hepatitis is a group of viral liver diseases, including hepatitis A, B, and C. Doctors use a hepatitis panel, a type of blood test, to diagnose hepatitis.”

Structural insights into hepatitis C virus receptor binding and entry
“Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a causal agent of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in humans, and afflicts more than 70 million people worldwide. The HCV envelope glycoproteins E1 and E2 are responsible for the binding of the virus to the host cell, but the exact entry process remains undetermined.”

Hepatitis C and diabetes: What is the link?
“The hepatitis C virus (HCV) spreads through contact with blood. It can cause an acute or chronic infection. If HCV becomes chronic, it can contribute to liver damage and the development of other conditions, including diabetes.”

My Choices^© Update
Week Ending September 20, 2021

Can flavonoids help fend off forgetfulness?
“The foundation of a healthy diet is a vibrant rainbow of fruits and vegetables, like rosy red strawberries, dark green spinach leaves, or sunny yellow peppers. Their colors often come from flavonoids, powerful plant chemicals (phytochemicals) that appear to contribute to many aspects of health. And now a large Harvard study published online in Neurology in July suggests that flavonoids may also play a role in protecting cognition.”

How To Keep a Food Journal: Instructions and Tips
“Whether you’re looking to lose weight, improve your diet, or simply understand your eating habits a little better, keeping a food journal can be incredibly beneficial.”

8 Caribbean Cultural Foods for Combatting Inflammation
“Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury and infection. However, chronic inflammation — which may be influenced by diet, inadequate sleep, and high stress levels — is linked to overweight and obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.”

Fast Fiber Facts: What Is It and How to Get Enough
“According to data curated by the Department of Agriculture, only about 5% of Americans consume their daily recommended allowance of fiber. And that’s unfortunate, because fiber plays a big role in many aspects of health.”

How to Tell If the Health and Nutrition Information You’re Reading Online is Actually True
“With so much misinformation out there around COVID-19 and vaccinations, in addition to health and wellness information in general, it’s more important than ever to make sure what you’re reading is actually true and credible. There are six ways to tell if the nutrition and health information you’re reading online is trustworthy.”

Health & Wellness: Have you considered complementary or alternative health care?
“Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a broad term for many health care treatments and medicines not generally used by the traditional medical community. Complementary or Integrative therapies are applied in tandem with traditional western medicine whereas alternative therapies are adopted in place of the traditional.”

7 Ways to Improve Your Gut Health, According to Experts
“When your gut is feeling great, you never think about it—but when it isn’t, it’s hard to think about anything else. The group of microorganisms that live in and make up your gastrointestinal tract plays a role in almost every aspect of your health from preventing chronic illnesses to keeping your immune system humming. So it’s no wonder that when it’s out of whack, you feel lousy.”

Nourishdoc Brings Top Integrative Practitioners For Educational Sessions For Balancing Hormones
“NourishDoc, the first 360-degree technology platform connecting wellness seekers and top holistic practitioners, announced today that it will start offering educational programs for chronic conditions. Integrative practitioners, professors, and researchers share their years of expertise in easy-to-understand informational sessions for natural remedies that can help heal millions around the world during these difficult times.”

What Are Botanicals, and What Can They Do for Your Health?
“Walk into a supplement store, and you’re bound to see dozens of products with nature-inspired labels boasting ingredients called “botanicals.”

One Major Side Effect of Not Drinking Tea, Says Science
“Tea is consumed across the globe, at all times of the day. Some people have it in the morning instead of coffee, some enjoy tea time in the afternoon, and others love drinking tea before bed.”

Qigong.

“Qigong is quite literally “Moving Meditation”. As with all meditation practices, Qigong has an incredibly calming effect on the central nervous system. As the mind, breath, and body are connected to the moment, the parasympathetic nervous system is engaged and the brain releases all sorts of feel-good hormones, such as serotonin and dopamine.”
https://theecohub.ca/5-healing-benefits-of-qigong/

Try session 3 of Qigong with Sifu Larry Wong

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A Formal Request Reconsideration of and Update to the Medicare NCD for Hepatitis C Screening

by stephanie Cantu | September 14, 2021 | What's New | 0 Comments

Join the World Hepatitis Day Movement!

by Lorren Sandt | May 27, 2021 | What's New | 0 Comments

We can’t wait for the pandemic to end to get hepatitis elimination back on track!

Hepatitis Can't wait awareness poster

CDC Releases 2019 Hepatitis Numbers – We are on the wrong road to elimination!

by Lorren Sandt | May 19, 2021 | What's New | 0 Comments

Today, CDC published online the 2019 Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. This report now includes demographic characteristics of persons with chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, urbanicity, and US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regions.

National Hepatitis Testing Day Proclamation

by Lorren Sandt | May 19, 2021 | What's New | 0 Comments

The White House

BRIEFING ROOM

A Proclamation on National Hepatitis Testing Day, 2021

MAY 18, 2021 • PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS

Our eﬀorts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year have reinforced many public health lessons, including the importance of communication, community engagement, and a comprehensive testing strategy to reduce the spread of infection. These same lessons hold true for another epidemic aﬀecting our Nation: the silent epidemic of viral hepatitis. Viral hepatitis is a serious, preventable public health threat that puts people who are infected at increased risk for serious disease and death. When left undiagnosed and untreated, hepatitis B and hepatitis C can cause liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and even early death. Hepatitis D, which occurs only among individuals infected with hepatitis B, can also cause serious liver disease.

On this National Hepatitis Testing Day, I call on all Americans who are at risk for hepatitis to get tested, and for all health care providers to educate their patients about viral hepatitis.

Our Nation has set a goal to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. Thanks to Federal investment in medical research, we have the technology and tools to provide safe and eﬀective hepatitis vaccines and therapeutics that can reduce mortality and even lead to a cure. Despite this progress, an estimated 2.4 million Americans are living with hepatitis C, and more than 860,000 are living with hepatitis B — many of whom unknowingly suﬀer its eﬀects.

Approximately 200,000 Americans are infected with hepatitis D every year. Infection with hepatitis D in an individual already infected with hepatitis B — known as superinfection — leads to a more rapid progression towards liver cancer. We must increase prevention, testing, and awareness to provide people the life-saving treatment they need. Because of the Aﬀordable Care Act, most health insurance plans must cover hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing with no cost-sharing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends screening and testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis D based on risk, health status, and pregnancy. It is important we implement these recommendations to ensure proper treatment and help stop the spread of hepatitis. For more information on the recommendations, visit cdc.gov/hepatitis.

My Administration is committed to addressing the health disparities and health inequities, which, as with so many health metrics, are also seen with viral hepatitis. Viral hepatitis disproportionately impacts Black and brown Americans, Indigenous persons, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Paciﬁc Islanders. The interplay of factors such as poverty, inadequate housing and transportation, food insecurity, access to care, access to addiction treatment and mental health care, medical mistrust, language and cultural barriers, stigma, and discrimination must be addressed if we are to eliminate these health disparities and advance health equity. The recently released Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan: A Roadmap to Elimination is focused on making sure more people living with viral hepatitis are tested and aware of their status and providing a roadmap for quality care and treatment. To read more about the plan, visit hhs.gov/hepatitis.

The viral hepatitis epidemic is also linked with other public health threats, including HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and opioid use. Our response to the public health challenges of viral hepatitis, HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and substance use disorders will require a focus on the people and places where these risk factors intersect, and doing more to test people for viral hepatitis and other infections. We also need to scale-up vaccinations, testing, and care in settings where people at risk receive other services. Implementing point-of-care testing in outreach settings, utilizing clinical decision support tools, and increasing provider awareness and training for implementing testing recommendations will help improve diagnoses and awareness. The ability to reduce viral hepatitis infections will depend on integrated strategies and a comprehensive approach to address our ongoing challenges.

Viral hepatitis exacts a signiﬁcant toll on our Nation’s health, and the stigma and discrimination associated with the disease further impair the quality of life among those aﬀected. Today, we reaﬃrm our commitment to ensuring everyone knows their viral hepatitis status, has access to high quality care and treatment, and lives free from stigma and discrimination.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 19, 2021, as National Hepatitis Testing Day. I encourage all Americans to join in activities that will increase awareness about viral hepatitis and increase viral hepatitis testing.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States

of America the two hundred and forty-ﬁfth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/18/a-proclamation-on-national-hepatitis-testing-day-2021/

COVID-19 and Liver Disease

by Lorren Sandt | May 17, 2021 | What's New | 0 Comments

CDC Releases 2025 Strategic Plan

by stephanie Cantu | March 25, 2021 | What's New | 0 Comments

CDC Releases 2025 Strategic Plan for preventing and controlling viral hepatitis in the United States. New outcome measures were identified to track national progress toward these goals. These measures are included in the second publication released today, the online 2021 National Viral Hepatitis Progress Report.

BIGG Elimination Tribute Project