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