Hepatitis C is a chronic liver disease that can lead to liver damage, cirrhosis and liver cancer. Many people with Hepatitis C do not experience any symptoms and do not know they are infected. So, testing is critical – especially now that there are treatments and cures for Hepatitis C.

Christina Del Vecchio
Clinical Programs Coordinator

Testing is especially important among the Baby Boom population (born 1945-1965), because Boomers are five times more likely to have Hepatitis C than other adults. Unfortunately, there has also been an increase in Hepatitis C among younger populations due to the ongoing opioid epidemic.

CHCACT has been working with the Gilead/FOCUS (On the Frontlines of Communities in the United States) program since October 2016; this program’s main goals are to make universal HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) testing a standard of care, and to link those who are found positive to care.

On Friday, March 23^rd, CHCACT hosted a Learning Team Meeting with participating health centers: InterCommunity, UCFS, Fair Haven, Wheeler, Charter Oak and Family Centers. CHCACT hosts four Learning Team Meetings each year with the participating health centers, to allow staff to share best practices around implementing the program and discuss how they are incorporating the program into their normal clinic workflow. During the meeting on Friday, each health center shared a brief PowerPoint presentation on how implementation of the program is going, testing progress, successes, and challenges. A big part of the meeting is having a guided discussion and allowing the health centers to learn from each other and see what others are doing to address common challenges and barriers.

During the meeting, Marlene Moranino, CHCACT’s Director of Clinical Programs, reviewed where the health centers are as a group in meeting the goals for the program. Currently, the health centers are at 90% for the meeting the goal of HIV tests performed and are at 69% for meeting the goal of HCV tests performed. The health centers have a linkage to care rate of 82%, meaning that 82% of referred patients attended their first medical appointment to address their HIV or HCV status. At the beginning of next month, the health centers will be submitting their Quarter 2 Data Report to show the number of people they tested through January and March and will also be submitting their interim Narrative Report to discuss their progress on implementing the program at their health center.

If you would like more information about this program, get in touch!

Have a great week,

Christina.