Addressing Uncertainties with Confidence Educational Track: Hepatitis C Thursday, January 21st, 2021 2:00 - 3:00 PM Eastern Presenter: Monica Lattimore, BS PA-C Medical Scientist Liver Diseases Medical Affairs Gilead Sciences The WHO has identified HCV as a public health threat and has outlined steps needed to eliminate HCV by 2030. Currently, only 11 countries are on track for HCV elimination. Sadly, the United States is not one of them. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in HCV programs slowing or stopping altogether. Join us in a series of discussions on how we can successfully eliminate Hepatitis C and close the gap in screening and linking patients to care. Register today: https://cutt.ly/Hep-C-0121

Viral Hepatitis Training: Addressing Uncertainties with Confidence

Addressing Uncertainties with Confidence

Educational Track: Hepatitis C
Thursday, January 21st, 2021
2:00 - 3:00 PM Eastern

Presenter:

Monica Lattimore, BS
PA-C Medical Scientist
Liver Diseases
Medical Affairs
Gilead Sciences

The WHO has identified HCV as a public health threat and has outlined steps needed to eliminate HCV by 2030.

Currently, only 11 countries are on track for HCV elimination. Sadly, the United States is not one of them. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in HCV programs slowing or stopping altogether.

Join us in a series of discussions on how we can successfully eliminate Hepatitis C and close the gap in screening and linking patients to care.

Register today:

https://cutt.ly/Hep-C-0121

Addressing Uncertainties with Confidence

Educational Track: Hepatitis C
Thursday, January 21st, 2021
2:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern

Presenter:

Monica Lattimore, BS
PA-C Medical Scientist
Liver Diseases
Medical Affairs
Gilead Sciences

The WHO has identified HCV as a public health threat and has outlined steps needed to eliminate HCV by 2030.

Currently, only 11 countries are on track for HCV elimination. Sadly, the United States is not one of them. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in HCV programs slowing or stopping altogether.

Join us in a series of discussions on how we can successfully eliminate Hepatitis C and close the gap in screening and linking patients to care.

Register today:

Community Education Group Resource Guide Image of the New River Gorge Bridge at night with the words "Connecting You to West Virginia - The Resources West Virginians Need for SUD, Hepatitis, and HIV

Community Education Group Launches New Health Resource Guide

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV (October 19, 2020) – The Community Education Group has launched a new West Virginia Statewide Resource Guide that helps people in the state access resources for HIV, Substance Use Disorder (SUD), and Viral Hepatitis services.

This new digital Resource Guide lets users select their county of residence using an interactive map, which takes them to a dedicated page detailing the providers and organizations available in their area.

“One of the biggest challenges facing West Virginians is not knowing where to go when they’re seeking testing, treatment, or services for HIV, SUD, and Hepatitis,” said A. Toni Young, CEG’s Founder and Executive Director. “With this new guide, CEG is seeking to help West Virginians find the resources they need where they live, as well as to identify gaps in services which will allow us to develop better partnerships and strategies that will expand access to services to fill those gaps.”

The West Virginia Statewide Resource Guide continues to expand and seek input from CEG’s three primary stakeholder groups: Communities, Organizations, and Providers. Users may submit new or overlooked HIV, SUD, Hepatitis, and other resources for inclusion and listing under the appropriate county by filling out a simple form.

Community Education Group (CEG) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization working to eliminate disparities in health outcomes and improve public health in disadvantaged populations and under-served communities.

New River Bridge Bridge Day Celebration

Community Education Group Forms West Virginia Statewide Stakeholder Coalition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Public Health and Community Organizations Join Forces to Combat Triple Threat of Substance Use, HIV, Hepatitis Outbreaks in West Virginia

New Coalition Will Take on Rising Infection Rates and Drug Overdose Deaths in the State

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 – The West Virginia Statewide Stakeholder Coalition (WVSSC) convened for the first time on September 1, 2020, to address West Virginia’s growing “syndemic” of HIV/Hepatitis C (HCV) outbreaks and drug overdose deaths. The group’s primary mission is to break down technical, regulatory, and administrative barriers that limit testing, treatment, and support across HIV, viral hepatitis, and substance use disorder [SUD] programs. Such barriers create “treatment silos” that fail to reflect the medical and social realities behind the interrelated health crises—and thereby impede effective intervention.

The meeting was convened by the health advocacy organization Shepherdstown-based Community Education Group (CEG). CEG formed the new statewide coalition aimed at stemming the rising tide of fatalities and HIV and viral hepatitis infections driven by West Virginia’s ongoing opioid crisis. 

“We are facing an unprecedented Substance Use Disorder epidemic in West Virginia,” said A. Toni Young, Founder and Executive Director of CEG. “An epidemic that is directly linked to our state’s highest-in-the-nation rates of Viral Hepatitis, to three HIV outbreaks in the past four years, and to the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the nation. It constitutes an immediate and ongoing threat to public health, requiring a proportional response. The West Virginia Statewide Stakeholder Coalition assembles the expertise and collaborative strategy to spearhead that response.”

The WVSSC will focus on expanding awareness, education, rapid testing for HIV and Viral Hepatitis, treatment for SUD, and linkage-to-care networks which refer those recently diagnosed with HIV or Viral Hepatitis to treatment resources. 

The first WVSSC meeting brought together 65 individuals and organizations including state government and public health officials, healthcare providers, national organizations, school board officials, community-based organizations, and others from across West Virginia. 

Representatives attendees for WVSSC include: West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources; the Bureau for Public Health; the Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services; the Office of Laboratory Services; the Office of Drug Control Policy; the Doddridge, Marion, Marshall, Mid-Ohio Valley, and Monongalia County Health Departments; Berkeley County Schools; the Hancock County Commission; the Jefferson Berkeley Alliance on Substance Abuse Prevention; the United Ways of Central WV, Marion, and Taylor Counties; Community Connections; David Medical Center; the Eastern Panhandle Regional Planning and Development Council; Eastridge Health Systems; EnAct, Inc.; the Family Resource Networks in Fayette, Gilmer, and Jackson Counties; the Morgan County Homeless Coalition; the Regional Intergovernmental Council; the West Virginia Institute of Community and Rural Health; West Virginia University; and many other private and public community members from across the state.

WVSSC’s primary goals include: 

1.)   Working to deconstruct disease state silos between Substance Use Disorder, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis by increasing awareness, education, and building linkages to care and treatment networks;

2.)   Working to expand HIV screening, rapid testing, surveillance, treatment, and linkage to care throughout West Virginia, reaching into hard-to-reach and hard-to-treat parts of the states;

3.)   Helping to develop statewide elimination plans for HIV and Viral Hepatitis;

4.)   Developing statewide working groups focused on SUD, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis;

5.)   Offering educational opportunities to Providers, Organizations, and Consumers centered around HIV, Substance Use Disorders, and Viral Hepatitis

NEXT MEETING: The next open meeting of WVSSC will be held on October 13, 2020, at 2:00 PM ET.  All are invited. Sign up by filling out the form at this address

Inaugural West Virginia Statewide Stakeholder Meeting a Resounding Success

#CEGInWV hosted a very successful inaugural West Virginia Statewide Stakeholder Meeting, on Tuesday, September 1st, 2020.

The meeting brought together 65 individuals and organizations, including state government and public health officials, healthcare providers, national organizations, school board officials, Community-Based Organizations, and others from across West Virginia.

CEG’s Founder and Executive Director, A. Toni Young, presented about CEG’s work in the state of West Virginia, including the following:

  1. Working to deconstruct disease state silos between Substance Use Disorder, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis by increasing awareness, education, and building linkage to care networks;
  2. Working to overturn West Virginia’s 2007 legislative moratorium (§16-5Y-12) on new Opioid Treatment Programs that offer Methadone for use as Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT);
  3. Working to expand HIV screening, rapid testing, surveillance, treatment, and linkage to care throughout West Virginia, reaching into hard-to-reach and hard-to-treat parts of the states;
  4. Working with the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Department of Health and Human Resources, and Office of Laboratory Services to clarify, adapt, and revise West Virginia’s HIV testing statute (§64-64);
  5. Working to increase Viral Hepatitis vaccination, testing, surveillance, and treatment services throughout the state;
  6. Helping to develop statewide elimination plans for HIV and Viral Hepatitis;
  7. Developing statewide working groups focused on SUD, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis;
  8. Establishing regular statewide stakeholder meetings to discuss strategies for addressing West Virginia’s most pressing public health needs.

Toni was joined by Ana Paula Duarte (Southern AIDS Coalition), Adrienne Simmons (National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable), Nicole Elinoff (National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors – NASTAD), and Mike Weir (NASTAD), all of whom presented on their respective areas of expertise.

The video of this first meeting has been made available on CEG’s YouTube channel (here), and the full meeting was streamed live on CEG’s Facebook page (here). You can also download the slides used during the meeting by clicking on their respective buttons.

Thank you, to everyone who attended this first meeting, and we look forward to working with our partners across West Virginia to build a stronger community, one project at a time.