{"id":932,"date":"2026-03-20T15:29:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/?p=932"},"modified":"2026-09-04T17:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T21:08:12","slug":"advocacy-nyc-council-educational-briefing-on-viral-hepatitis-february-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/?p=932","title":{"rendered":"Advocacy | NYC Council Educational Briefing on Viral Hepatitis February 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"932\" class=\"elementor elementor-932\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d256c9a e-con e-atomic-element e-flexbox-base e-fdc0811 \" data-id=\"d256c9a\" data-element_type=\"e-flexbox\" data-e-type=\"e-flexbox\" data-interaction-id=\"d256c9a\" data-e-type=\"e-flexbox\" data-id=\"d256c9a\">\n    \t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0618f2d elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"0618f2d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hf-briefing\">\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n\/* Hep Free NYC \u2014 council briefing recap. 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.6rem;\r\n\tcolor:var(--hf-heading);\r\n\tfont-size:1.25rem;\r\n\tfont-weight:600;\r\n\tline-height:1.35;\r\n}\r\n.hf-briefing .hf-action p{font-size:.9375rem;}\r\n.hf-briefing .hf-action p:last-of-type{margin-bottom:0;}\r\n.hf-briefing .hf-links{\r\n\tdisplay:flex;\r\n\tflex-wrap:wrap;\r\n\tgap:.6rem;\r\n\tmargin:1.1rem 0 0;\r\n}\r\n.hf-briefing .hf-btn{\r\n\tdisplay:inline-block;\r\n\tpadding:.45rem .95rem;\r\n\tborder:1px solid var(--hf-accent);\r\n\tborder-radius:4px;\r\n\tbackground:var(--hf-accent);\r\n\tcolor:#fff;\r\n\tfont-size:.8125rem;\r\n\tfont-weight:600;\r\n\tletter-spacing:.03em;\r\n\tline-height:1.4;\r\n\ttext-decoration:none;\r\n}\r\n.hf-briefing .hf-btn:hover,.hf-briefing .hf-btn:focus-visible{\r\n\tbackground:var(--hf-accent-dark);\r\n\tborder-color:var(--hf-accent-dark);\r\n\tcolor:#fff;\r\n\ttext-decoration:none;\r\n}\r\n\r\n@media (max-width:767px){\r\n\t.hf-briefing{font-size:1rem;}\r\n\t.hf-briefing .hf-deck{font-size:1.1875rem;}\r\n\t.hf-briefing .hf-section{font-size:1.3125rem;margin-top:2.5rem;}\r\n\t.hf-briefing .hf-stats{gap:1.25rem 2rem;padding:1.15rem 1.25rem;}\r\n\t.hf-briefing .hf-stats strong{font-size:1.75rem;}\r\n\t.hf-briefing .hf-block{padding-left:1rem;}\r\n\t.hf-briefing .hf-block h3{font-size:1.0625rem;}\r\n\t.hf-briefing .hf-action{padding:1.25rem;}\r\n\t.hf-briefing .hf-btn{width:100%;text-align:center;}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\r\n<p class=\"hf-caption\">Hep Free NYC advocates with City Council Member Lynn Schulman.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p class=\"hf-deck\">More than 43 New York City Council Members, their staff, and provider and community partners attended the NYC Council Briefing on Viral Hepatitis.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-meta\">\r\n\t<div><span>Date<\/span>Thursday, February 26, 2026<\/div>\r\n\t<div><span>Location<\/span>250 Broadway, Manhattan<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-stats\">\r\n\t<div><strong>43+<\/strong><span>Council members, staff and partners<\/span><\/div>\r\n\t<div><strong>$5M<\/strong><span>FY 27 budget request<\/span><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"hf-section\">Elected Officials in Attendance<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"hf-officials\">\r\n\t<li><strong>Lynn Schulman<\/strong> &mdash; Chair, NYC Council Health Committee, who gave opening remarks<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Tiffany Cab&aacute;n<\/strong> &mdash; Council Member<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Carl Wilson<\/strong> &mdash; Council District 3 Candidate<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Staff representing Council Members <strong>Oss&eacute;<\/strong>, <strong>Krishnan<\/strong>, <strong>Lee<\/strong> and <strong>Maloney<\/strong>, and Council Speaker <strong>Menin<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"hf-section\">Presentations<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>Viral Hepatitis Prevention Initiative Budget Request<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Robert Desrouleaux &mdash; Assistant Program Director, Hepatitis C Mentor and Support Group (HCMSG)<\/p>\r\n\t<p>Emceed the briefing and presented the community Viral Hepatitis Prevention Initiative budget request of $5 million for Fiscal Year 27.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>History and Overview of the Prevention Initiative<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Jeannine Garriga &mdash; Outreach Coordinator, HCMSG<\/p>\r\n\t<p>Presented a history and overview of the NYC Council Viral Hepatitis Prevention Initiative.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>Preliminary 2024 Surveillance Data<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Erin Swepston, FNP, AAHIVS &mdash; Clinical Advisor and Director, Viral Hepatitis Program, NYC Health Department<\/p>\r\n\t<p>Presented preliminary 2024 hepatitis B and C surveillance data for NYC, and highlighted federal actions that have presented challenges to the city&rsquo;s viral hepatitis elimination efforts, including the CDC&rsquo;s removal of the universal hepatitis B birth dose recommendation.<\/p>\r\n\t<p>She shared the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.ny.gov\/diseases\/communicable\/hepatitis\/hepatitis_b\/perinatal\/docs\/2025-11-24_han.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">joint NYS and NYC Health Advisory<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/assets\/doh\/downloads\/pdf\/letters\/2025\/hepb-post-acip.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dear Colleague letter<\/a>, which restate that in New York, recommendations to vaccinate infants within 24 hours of birth for hepatitis B remain unchanged.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>Challenges in Hep B Testing, Vaccination and Treatment<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Julie Yoshimachi, DNP &mdash; Director, Hepatitis B Program, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center<\/p>\r\n\t<p>Explained current challenges in hepatitis B testing, vaccination, and treatment in NYC.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>A Patient Story<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Fatima Omarufilo &mdash; Patient Navigator, Montefiore Starfish Program<\/p>\r\n\t<p>Shared the story of a patient who recently died of hepatitis-B-related liver disease.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>Living with Hepatitis B<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Binh Ly &mdash; Patient Advocate, Hepatitis B Foundation<\/p>\r\n\t<p>Spoke about his personal experience as a patient with hepatitis B.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>Barriers to Hep C Testing and Curative Treatment<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Helen Adams, PA &mdash; Mount Sinai Institute for Liver Medicine<\/p>\r\n\t<p>Spoke about the ongoing barriers to hepatitis C testing and curative treatment.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>Going Through the Hep C Cure<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Peter Rodriguez &mdash; Patient Advocate, BOOM! Health<\/p>\r\n\t<p>Shared his experience as a patient going through the hepatitis C cure and the positive difference it has made in his life.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-block\">\r\n\t<h3>Closing Remarks<\/h3>\r\n\t<p class=\"hf-by\">Ronni Marks &mdash; Executive Director, HCMSG<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"hf-action\">\r\n\t<h2>Take Action Now<\/h2>\r\n\t<p>Every NYC organization, health care provider, and patient affected by hepatitis B and C can support advocacy to increase funding for the Viral Hepatitis Prevention Initiative.<\/p>\r\n\t<p><strong>Contact your NYC Council Member.<\/strong> Call and meet with your Council Members and share information about hepatitis B and C in their Council District. Use the resources below to support your advocacy.<\/p>\r\n\t<div class=\"hf-links\">\r\n\t\t<a class=\"hf-btn\" href=\"REPLACE-WITH-URL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FY 27 budget request one pager<\/a>\r\n\t\t<a class=\"hf-btn\" href=\"REPLACE-WITH-URL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 case maps by Council District<\/a>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday, February 26, 2026, more than 43 New York City (NYC) Council Members, their staff, and provider and community partners attended the NYC Council Briefing on Viral Hepatitis at 250 Broadway in Manhattan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_asy_seo_locked":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73,68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=932"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2875,"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932\/revisions\/2875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.hepfree.nyc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}