World Hepatitis Day Event Vancouver 2015

Event programme for the WHD Event

July 28, 2015 is the official World Hepatitis Day 2015. As such, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) organized the World Hepatitis Day Event for Vancouver on the that day at the Creekside Community Recreation Center.

Various organizations came together at the event to bring awareness to the threats of hepatitis and the advances we have made against them. There were also guest speakers lined up for the day, from patients who have lived with hepatitis, to health care professionals discussing the advancements made to combat the disease.

And, of course, VIDC had to be there! As part of our commitment to a community-based holistic approach to treatment, being at the World Hepatitis Day event is our way of engaging and learning from the community.

Pictures speak louder than words! Check out the photos below to find out how else was VIDC involved at the event.

VIDC Information Booth

We also had our Community Pop-Up Clinic(CPC), with the support of the First Nations Health Authority, set up! You might remember Brian from when we did Liver Screening at the Gathering Wisdom event.

Our staff physician, Dr. Alexandra King, also gave a talk at the event bringing awareness to the importance of access to testing for HCV — especially for the indigenous community.

One of our long-term patients, Brody Williams, sharing his experiences with hepatitis C — from the struggles of gaining access to treatment, to the success story of how he has battled the disease.

Elder Sharon Jinkreson Bass, Brody Williams, and Dr. Alexandra King also unveiled the Hepatitis C Water Journey Blanket. An homage to the AIDS memorial quilt.

It is through events like these that communities are brought together to teach and learn from each other. And it is through these events that allies are brought together to fight towards a common goal: health and wellness.

To see more photos, check out the HepC BC’s post on World Hepatitis Day Vancouver 2015.

VIDC at the Gathering Wisdom for a Shared Journey VII

Last May 6-7, The Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre had the privilege to be a part of the 7th Annual Gathering Wisdom for a Shared Journey forum at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver hotel.

As part of the event, they had a Health Screening room set up with screening stations for blood pressure, glucose level, tuberculosis (TB), and liver health. We came in with our FibroScan® machine and was greeted by very friendly First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) staff with a full two-day list (and quite a huge waiting list) of people interested in getting their liver tested — there was no time to waste!

This sign says it all. The FNHA did a great job with the promotional materials.

There was no lull time as we screened people one after the other. Everyone was very excited to find out about the machine (and about their liver health too, I’m sure). As part of our team, we had our HCV Nurse Shawn Sharma, RN BSN administer the screening and Dr. Alexandra King MD, FRCPC consulting with the patients about the results.

Overall, it was such a great experience being part of the forum. The energy from everyone working together to improve the health and wellness of the First Nation communities was simply surreal!

Meet Heppy! The Giant Microbes depiction of what the Hepatitis C Virus looks like — if it were a cute plush toy a million times its actual size.

Our registration booth set up with Brian from FNHA.

Contact Information on our poster, with our “HEP C? GET TESTED!” wristbands. Special thanks to Daryl Luster from the Pacific Hepatitis C Network for the wristbands!