about us
MISSION
To maximize the health and wellness of all Allegheny County residents living with and at risk for hepatitis C by expanding prevention, harm reduction, education, testing, and timely access to care and treatment.
VISION
Hep C Free Allegheny envisions a county where new hepatitis C infections are rare and quickly identified, and people with hepatitis C are rapidly linked to care and treated, reducing hepatitis C related inequities.
VALUES
Equity
We believe in health justice, recognizing that discrimination and stigma have contributed to the current hepatitis C epidemic we face. We believe that all people deserve access to testing and treatment.
Collaboration
We approach hepatitis C as an intersectional issue, recognizing that the opioid, HIV, and hepatitis epidemics are closely intertwined. We are a multi-sectoral effort, involving people from many disciplines and empowering people living with or at risk for hepatitis C to have a meaningful role in our work.
Advocacy
We address issues of equity through education and awareness, as well by changing our policies and structures to remove obstacles to hepatitis C prevention and care.
Evidence Based
We recognize harm reduction as an evidenced-based practice to reduce hepatitis C. We use data to drive our decision-making, and to evaluate our progress toward eliminating hepatitis C, including reducing hepatitis C related inequities.
1. Surveillance: Collect and analyze data to estimate the number of persons infected, tested, successfully treated, and with long-term complications in Allegheny County.
2. Testing & Linkage to Care: Expand hepatitis C screening and confirmatory testing, and ensure that people diagnosed with hepatitis C are linked to care, including curative treatment.
3. Education, Prevention, & Advocacy: Educate health and human service providers and the public on hepatitis C prevention, testing, and treatment, and increase access to evidence-based substance use treatment and harm reduction strategies. Focus efforts on those at the highest risk of transmitting or becoming infected with hepatitis C and providers interacting with these individuals.
1-1: Monitor the number of people newly diagnosed with acute, chronic, and perinatal hepatitis C infections, including the number co-infected with HIV or hepatitis B
1-2: Collect information on barriers to testing and/or treatment and provide linkage to care resources to people newly diagnosed with acute, chronic, and perinatal hepatitis C
1-3: Monitor access to testing and treatment for hepatitis C among people who use drugs
1-4: Monitor the number of people successfully treated for hepatitis C
1-5: Monitor complications associated with hepatitis C infection
1-6: Identify and monitor infants at risk for perinatal hepatitis C infection
1-7: Provide estimates for the number of people living with hepatitis C infection
1-8: Disseminate hepatitis C data to physical and behavioral healthcare providers, the public, and other stakeholders
2-1: Expand timely and low-barrier access to hepatitis C testing and treatment services within physical and behavioral healthcare provider settings in Allegheny County, focusing on perinatally exposed infants and people who use drugs
2-2: Encourage providers to offer reflex testing to all individuals screened for hepatitis C
2-3: Ensure that healthcare providers are aware of current testing and treatment guidelines
3-1: Educate physical and behavioral healthcare providers, elected officials, community-based organizations, and the public, about hepatitis C prevention, screening, linkage to care, and the intersection of the opioid epidemic and hepatitis C
3-2: Incorporate information on barriers to testing and/or treatment provided by people with lived experience in educational materials and initiatives
3-3: Participate in advocacy to promote hepatitis C elimination
3-4: Promote partner efforts supporting hepatitis C elimination goals, including testing events, linkage to treatment, incorporation of harm reduction principles and access to drug injection equipment
Allegheny County Medical Society
Allegheny Health Network, Center for Inclusion Health
Allegheny County Health Department
UPMC Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine