Hepatitis B Foundation Kicks Off 20th Anniversary Year with New International Campaign

[Guest guest]

http://www.prlog.org/11312943-hepatitis-foundation-kicks-off-20th-anniversary-ye\

ar-with-new-international-campaign.html

Hepatitis B Foundation Kicks Off 20th Anniversary Year with New International

Campaign

(Multi-year Comprehensive Hepatitis B Outreach and Education Campaign in China

Launched with Support of $400,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Grant)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 18, 2011 – The Hepatitis B Foundation, celebrating

its 20th anniversary as the global authority dedicated to eliminating hepatitis

B worldwide, is launching its Gateway to Care public health campaign in Haimen

City, China. This new international program is made possible by a $400,000

educational grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.

The Foundation’s Gateway to Care program in China is a multi-year, citywide

initiative that will raise public awareness about hepatitis B among its one

million residents, educate hundreds of health care providers to improve

screening and management of hepatitis B, and provide information and support to

those living with this serious liver disease. The primary goal of the campaign

is to create a model outreach and education program in Haimen City that can be

readily adapted and duplicated in other cities to help reduce the enormous

burden of hepatitis B in China.

Hepatitis B is the world’s most serious, common liver infection that chronically

infects 400 million people worldwide. More than 100 million of those chronically

infected live in China. Hepatitis B results in one million deaths each year and

is also the leading cause of liver cancer, making it the 10th leading cause of

death worldwide. In China alone, almost 500,000 people die each year from

hepatitis B-related complications such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The Foundation’s ambitious Gateway to Care campaign was developed to address the

growing severity of hepatitis B and liver cancer among Asian populations in both

the U.S. and China. The Foundation selected two demonstration sites –

Philadelphia and Haimen City – where it has a track of success and credibility

with the city’s leadership and health organizations to launch its campaign.

Philadelphia has the 12th largest Asian population of any U.S. city, with

219,000 Asian residents, and was a natural place to begin because it is in the

backyard of the Foundation. In 2008, the Foundation initiated its national

Gateway to Care program in Philadelphia to raise awareness and provide free

education, screening and linkage to care by partnering with many community-based

organizations.

With the support Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s grant, the Hepatitis B

Foundation is now able to expand its Gateway to Care campaign in Haimen City,

China, which is located in Jiangsu Province, approximately 60 miles northwest of

Shanghai. Haimen City was selected because it has one of the highest rates of

chronic hepatitis B infections and liver cancer in all of China and the

Foundation has a longstanding relationship with the city. Since the early 1990s,

more than 13,000 individuals identified as having chronic hepatitis B, from an

original cohort of 90,000 who were initially screened, have been regularly

monitored by a team led by public health scientists who are now part of the

Foundation. More than 1,200 of these infected individuals have since died from

liver cancer. Today, the Foundation’s new campaign will directly benefit

patients and families through its comprehensive education and outreach efforts.

With one of every four chronically infected individuals at high-risk for

premature death from liver failure and liver cancer, a successful public health

model in China will help save millions of lives.

The Foundation’s Gateway to Care initiative in Haimen City will be led by Gang

Chen, MD, PhD, Director of China Programs, who was born in the city and received

his training from Shanghai Medical School (now Fudan University). Additional key

Foundation members who will be involved in the campaign include: Baruch

Blumberg, MD, PhD, Nobel laureate and Foundation Distinguished Scholar; W.

London, MD, Board Member and Senior Medical Advisor; Joan M. Block, RN,

BSN, Executive Director; and Chari Cohen, MPH, Associate Director, Public Health

Research.

About the Hepatitis B Foundation: The Hepatitis B Foundation, celebrating its

20th anniversary as the global authority dedicated to eliminating hepatitis B,

is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure

and improving the quality of life for those affected with hepatitis B worldwide

through research, education and patient advocacy. It is headquartered in the

Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, which it created to accelerate its research

mission. To learn more, visit www.hepb.org or call (215) 489-4900.

About the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation: The mission of the Bristol-Myers

Squibb Foundation is to help reduce health disparities by strengthening

community-based health care worker capacity, integrating medical care and

community-based supportive services, and mobilizing communities in the fight

against disease. To learn more, visit www.bms.com/foundation.

# # #

Furia Rubel is a Philadelphia-area public relations agency. We provide expert

strategic planning and PR / publicity services to lawyers, law firms,

professional service firms, business-to-business organizations education &

nonprofit institutions.

[Guest guest]

http://www.prlog.org/11312943-hepatitis-foundation-kicks-off-20th-anniversary-ye\

ar-with-new-international-campaign.html

Hepatitis B Foundation Kicks Off 20th Anniversary Year with New International

Campaign

(Multi-year Comprehensive Hepatitis B Outreach and Education Campaign in China

Launched with Support of $400,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Grant)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 18, 2011 – The Hepatitis B Foundation, celebrating

its 20th anniversary as the global authority dedicated to eliminating hepatitis

B worldwide, is launching its Gateway to Care public health campaign in Haimen

City, China. This new international program is made possible by a $400,000

educational grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.

The Foundation’s Gateway to Care program in China is a multi-year, citywide

initiative that will raise public awareness about hepatitis B among its one

million residents, educate hundreds of health care providers to improve

screening and management of hepatitis B, and provide information and support to

those living with this serious liver disease. The primary goal of the campaign

is to create a model outreach and education program in Haimen City that can be

readily adapted and duplicated in other cities to help reduce the enormous

burden of hepatitis B in China.

Hepatitis B is the world’s most serious, common liver infection that chronically

infects 400 million people worldwide. More than 100 million of those chronically

infected live in China. Hepatitis B results in one million deaths each year and

is also the leading cause of liver cancer, making it the 10th leading cause of

death worldwide. In China alone, almost 500,000 people die each year from

hepatitis B-related complications such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The Foundation’s ambitious Gateway to Care campaign was developed to address the

growing severity of hepatitis B and liver cancer among Asian populations in both

the U.S. and China. The Foundation selected two demonstration sites –

Philadelphia and Haimen City – where it has a track of success and credibility

with the city’s leadership and health organizations to launch its campaign.

Philadelphia has the 12th largest Asian population of any U.S. city, with

219,000 Asian residents, and was a natural place to begin because it is in the

backyard of the Foundation. In 2008, the Foundation initiated its national

Gateway to Care program in Philadelphia to raise awareness and provide free

education, screening and linkage to care by partnering with many community-based

organizations.

With the support Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s grant, the Hepatitis B

Foundation is now able to expand its Gateway to Care campaign in Haimen City,

China, which is located in Jiangsu Province, approximately 60 miles northwest of

Shanghai. Haimen City was selected because it has one of the highest rates of

chronic hepatitis B infections and liver cancer in all of China and the

Foundation has a longstanding relationship with the city. Since the early 1990s,

more than 13,000 individuals identified as having chronic hepatitis B, from an

original cohort of 90,000 who were initially screened, have been regularly

monitored by a team led by public health scientists who are now part of the

Foundation. More than 1,200 of these infected individuals have since died from

liver cancer. Today, the Foundation’s new campaign will directly benefit

patients and families through its comprehensive education and outreach efforts.

With one of every four chronically infected individuals at high-risk for

premature death from liver failure and liver cancer, a successful public health

model in China will help save millions of lives.

The Foundation’s Gateway to Care initiative in Haimen City will be led by Gang

Chen, MD, PhD, Director of China Programs, who was born in the city and received

his training from Shanghai Medical School (now Fudan University). Additional key

Foundation members who will be involved in the campaign include: Baruch

Blumberg, MD, PhD, Nobel laureate and Foundation Distinguished Scholar; W.

London, MD, Board Member and Senior Medical Advisor; Joan M. Block, RN,

BSN, Executive Director; and Chari Cohen, MPH, Associate Director, Public Health

Research.

About the Hepatitis B Foundation: The Hepatitis B Foundation, celebrating its

20th anniversary as the global authority dedicated to eliminating hepatitis B,

is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure

and improving the quality of life for those affected with hepatitis B worldwide

through research, education and patient advocacy. It is headquartered in the

Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, which it created to accelerate its research

mission. To learn more, visit www.hepb.org or call (215) 489-4900.

About the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation: The mission of the Bristol-Myers

Squibb Foundation is to help reduce health disparities by strengthening

community-based health care worker capacity, integrating medical care and

community-based supportive services, and mobilizing communities in the fight

against disease. To learn more, visit www.bms.com/foundation.

# # #

Furia Rubel is a Philadelphia-area public relations agency. We provide expert

strategic planning and PR / publicity services to lawyers, law firms,

professional service firms, business-to-business organizations education &

nonprofit institutions.