Fw: NVHR monthly policy call cancelled - other opportunities announced

[Guest guest]

NVHR monthly policy call cancelled - other opportunities announced

Dear Colleagues:

Due to the introduction later this week of the new HHS Action Plan to Prevent, Care and Treat Viral Hepatitis, NVHR will not host its regular monthly policy call today. There is a lot going on this week that you can participate in. Several emails were sent out in the past few weeks and below are reminders of opportunities to participate in the HHS plan rollout events. You may attend the event in Washington D.C. or watch the live webcast on the 12th. On Monday, May 18, there will be a webinar to learn more about the plan. Also below, please find details about the Congressional Briefing on the HHS Action Plan and Action Alert to contact your members of Congress about this historic occasion for viral hepatitis. Please see details about these opportunities below:

Introduction of the Action Plan to Prevent, Care and Treat Viral Hepatitis.

WHEN:

Thursday, May 12, 2011

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET

WHERE:

The National Press Club

First Amendment Lounge, 13th Floor

529 14th St, NW

Washington, DC 20045

To attend the event in person, please RSVP to rsvp@... by 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 9, 2011.

The event will also be webcast live at: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/hepatitisplan

Webinar

HHS Viral Hepatitis Action Plan: The Community Response

Date & Time: May 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM Pacific Time

To register for this webinar: https://caringambassadors.ilinc.com/register/zkycvfp

To join this webinar: https://caringambassadors.ilinc.com/join/zkycvfp

Dial-In: 1-800-201-2375 or 1-469-759-7753 Passcode: 327238

Action Alert

Urge Your Members of Congress to Attend Historic Viral Hepatitis Congressional Briefing

On Thursday, May 12th, Congressman Mike Honda and Senator Kerry will hold a Congressional briefing entitled “Combating the Hidden Epidemic: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Action Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis.” This briefing will inform Members of Congress and their staff about the long-awaited report from HHS that will detail the federal government’s strategy for combating hepatitis B and C in the United States.

The release of this report and the briefing offer a tremendous opportunity to change the course of the viral hepatitis epidemic in the U.S. and demonstrate Congressional leadership in moving forward a comprehensive prevention and treatment strategy.

We need as many Members of Congress and their staff to attend this briefing to show their commitment to implement and fund the HHS plan. You can help make this happen by making three important phone calls right now!

How you can make a difference:

Call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1-888-876-6242 and ask to be connected to your U.S. Representative. When you are connected, ask for the staff person who handles health care issues. Whether you speak directly to the staff person or leave a message, tell him/her:

“My name is _____________ and I live in (city/state). I am calling to urge Representative _____________ to attend a Congressional briefing on fighting the viral hepatitis epidemic in the United States. This important briefing will outline the new HHS “Action Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis.” The briefing will be held on Thursday, May 12th, from 9:30 – 11:00 am in 210 Cannon House Office Building. Please contact Meina Banh in Congressman Mike Honda’s office for more information and to register. In the next 10 years, about 150,000 people in the United States are projected to die from liver cancer and liver disease associated with chronic hepatitis B and C. I strongly urge your office to participate in this briefing and show your commitment to fighting these preventable diseases.”

Next, call both of your two U.S. Senators (using the Capitol Switchboard number) and deliver the same message to their health care staff.

You can also ask the staff person for his/her email address and forward the attached “Dear Colleague” letter with more information about the briefing.

Thank you for taking the time to make a difference!

This Action Alert was created by the Hepatitis Appropriations Partnership, the National Task Force on Hepatitis B: Focus on AAPIs, and the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable.

Martha Saly

Director

National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable

707-480-0596

www.nvhr.org

The National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable is a coalition of public, private and voluntary organizations dedicated to reducing the incidence of infection, morbidity and mortality from viral hepatitis in the United States