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Colorado
Hepatitis C Support Groups
For individuals infected with hepatitis C and family members affected by hepatitis C. Free and confidential. New members always welcome.
Metro-Denver
Aurora - 900 Potomac, 1st Floor Staff Cafeteria, 1st Tuesday 6:30 - 8pm, Consuelo (303) 367-2813
Englewood - 1000 Englewood Pkwy, 4th Tuesday 6:30 - 8pm, Deidrea (303) 504-1853
Lakewood - 11500 W. 20th, 2nd Tuesday 6:30 - 8pm, Betsy (303) 237-1150
HIV/HCV Co-infection - 1660 S. Albion, 4th Tuesday 5:30 - 7pm, Kim (303) 862-0407
Statewide
Boulder -
YWCA 2222 14th Street, EDGE Classroom, 2nd Wednesday of the month, 6 - 7:30pm, Carrie (303) 875-2568
CO Springs -
825 E. Pikes Peak Ave., 5th Floor Dining Rm, 3rd Thursday of the month, 7 - 8:30pm, Dave (719) 440-0025
Ft. Collins -
2809 E. Harmony, 3rd Floor, Last Wednesday 6:30 - 8 pm, Jerry (970) 214-2912
Grand Junction -
515 28 3/4 Road Bldg A, 1st Wednesday 5:15-6:45 pm, Rainy (970) 208-4507
Pueblo -
Last Monday of the month, 5 - 6:30pm, Rhonda lovetorideinpueblo@ya
oo.com
The Pueblo support group is currently not meeting.
For information regarding national support groups, please call our HelpLine at 800-522-HEPC (4372) |
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Greetings!
Welcome to the August 2009 edition of Connections!
Dear friends and supporters of Hep C Connection,
We learned in early July that a scrub technician with hepatitis C allegedly injected herself with the powerful drug fentanyl and replaced the liquid in the syringe with saline solution. Up to 5,700 patients at two Colorado health facilities are being tested for the virus and positive test results have started to come in.
Hep C Connection has responded by providing these services:
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A one-time support group in Denver and also in Colorado Springs offering an opportunity for those affected to discuss their emotions.
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Channel 7 News interviewed Board member Steve Piper, which aired Saturday July 4th.
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Channel 9 News interviewed Betsy Hoover, one of our long-term support group facilitators, which aired Saturday July 25th.
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The Denver Post on-line edition published a guest column from me on July, 28th.
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Dr. Gregory Everson, Director of Hepatolgy with the University of Colorado Hospital, will be hosting a Patient Education Forum dinner Thursday, August 20th.
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Both health facilities were given educational materials to inform their viewers about hepatitis C transmission risks, "next-steps" for follow-up care, and local community resources.
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Lastly, our hepatitis C fact sheet has been placed on the health facilities' website.
A very astute former Board member once said that "a letter notifying you that you have hepatitis C does not come with a hug". Hep C Connection and its support services is trying to provide that hug - if this situation has affected you, or you would like support services, reach out to us.
Sincerely,
Nancy Steinfurth
Executive Director
We want to hear from you! To comment or contribute interesting news and information about hepatitis, please send us a note at info@hepc-connection.org.
The deadline for news postings is August 24th.
Please share our newsletter with others by simply forwarding it to others, or by using the forwarding option at the bottom. Thank you! |
| Free Dinner and Patient Educational Forum |
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Living with Hepatitis C - Free Dinner and Patient Educational Forum
Dr. Gregory T. Everson, MD, Director of Hepatology
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Have your questions answered by a world-renowned hepatitis C expert! Come to our Free Dinner and Patient Educational Forum Thursday, August 20th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Holiday Inn Select Denver - Cherry Creek 455 South Colorado Boulevard, Centennial Room.
Space is limited. Reservations are required by calling Laura Ginnett at (720) 917-3960 or e-mail at lginnett@hepc-connection.org.
Dr. Gregory T. Everson serves on the Hep C Connection Medical Advisory Board and is co-author with Hedy Weinberg of "LIVING WITH HEPATITS C, A Survivors Guide" and their latest book "Living With Hepatitis C: The Complete Health Guide to the Causes and Treatment of Hepatitis C".
Funds to provide our Dinner and the Patient Educational Forum was generously provided by Roche Pharmaceuticals. |
| Hepatitis C Testing at the 2009 Salute to American Veterans Motorcycle Rally & Festival |
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The 16th annual Salute to American Veterans Motorcycle Rally and Festival will be held August 14th through the 17th on Main Street in Winter Park, Colorado. Vendors and booths will be set up by 11:00am and open all day, everyday for this event. The high mountain valley will come alive with the sounds of thunder as thousands of motorcycles arrive!
For two decades, the organizers of the Salute to American Veterans Rally and the POW/MIA (Prisoners of War/Missing in Action) Recognition Ride have made it their mission to provide a venue in which patriotic citizens of the United States may take the opportunity to honor our true heroes: United States veterans, active duty members of the Armed Forces, POW's and MIA's, and Armed Service men and women killed in action. Click here to view the Veterans Rally website. Unfortunately, former and current members of the Armed Services are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C. To learn more, click here. For this very reason Hep C Connection is participating in this three-day event and will be offering educational and support information, as well as free and confidential hepatitis C testing all three days. We hope to test at least 100 people, so encourage anybody you know that should be tested to stop by our booth. And if you are near Winter Park that weekend, stop by and say hi as well!
Thank you to Roche Pharmaceuticals for underwriting this event!
Kara Armstrong, HelpLine and Volunteer Coordinator, sets up the Hep C Connection booth at the Ladies Run Motorcycle Rally in Fairplay Colorado.
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| Last Call: AIDS Walk - August 15 |
| This year Hep C Connection is sponsoring a team for the 2009 Colorado AIDS Walk, Saturday, August 15, 2009.
AIDS Walk Colorado is a 5K Walk that begins in Cheesman Park and winds through the streets of Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood before finishing back in the park.
70 percent of funds raised from Hep C Connection's team will directly support the Hep C Connection HIV/HCV co-infection education and testing programs, services and resources. We would like to encourage friends and supporters of Hep C Connection to join or sponsor our team. Simply go to www.aidswalkcolorado.org, click the "Donate" tab, enter "Stewart Thomas" as the Team Captain to pull up the "Hep C Connection" Team, click "My Team Page". From here, view the bottom right portion of the screen, you can make a "General Team Donation" or sponsor a specific Team member, it's your choice! You can also join the Hep C Connection Team by choosing the "Join Our Team" option. If fundraising and walking aren't for you, there are other great ways to participate. You can sponsor the Hep C Connection team or be a volunteer the day of the event. For more information contact Stewart Thomas at (720) 917-3970 or by e-mail at sthomas@hepc-connection.org. We look forward to walking with you!
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| Doctors & Science |
Current treatment of hepatitis C is both exciting and fraught with frustrations. The current cure rate, after a course of pegylated interferon therapy, is between 40 and 90% and is dependent on many factors, including hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype, treatment tolerance, the use of full doses of pegylated interferon and optimal doses of ribavirin, as well as completion of treatment with full adherence and compliance with the recommended treatment instructions as per treatment guidelines. Key factors in predicting who will have further on-treatment response and who will ultimately obtain a sustained viral response (SVR) include baseline viral load, and the level of fibrosis prior to therapy, as well as on-treatment viral response at 4 weeks. To read the full article, please click here. To read other related newsworthy pieces please visit www.hivandhepatitis.com. |
| Volunteer Appreciation Dinner |
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As a token of our appreciation for your service and time, Hep C Connection will be hosting a Summer Appreciation Dinner at Executive Director, Nancy Steinfurth's, home on August 26th. Family members and partners are welcome to attend. For more information please contact, Kara Armstrong at karmstrong@hepc-connection.org. |
| Incorporating Volunteerism Into Your 'Change' |
Change, it has been a catch word for over a year now. It has so many meanings and belongs in so many places for each and everyone of us. From reprioritizing our personal lives to supporting national change for the country, it has spread through our nation like wild fire. In April 2009 President Obama sparked another fire of change by signing into law the Edward M Kennedy Serve America Act.
This act initiated a call to our country to expand our services to others in order to improve and strengthen our nation. On a very personal level this has hit home to Hep C Connection. Hep C Connection provides services and support to thousands of people annually. These services could not be provided without the dedication and enthusiasm of our volunteers.
Each day we receive calls from individuals across the country whose lives have been changed by hepatitis C. Most months we go out into the community and provide education and outreach to individuals who may need to make changes in their lives to protect themselves and improve their health. These activities can not be done without our volunteers. If you or someone you know is interested in changing the lives of those who may be impacted by hepatitis C, please consider volunteering with us.
Currently we are seeking volunteers for Colorado activities. But, encourage everyone compelled to volunteer to seek positions in your area. For any information please e-mail Kara Armstrong at karmstrong@hepc-connection.org. |
| Requesting Your Personal Experiences |
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If you have a personal story that you are willing to share with our monthly e-newsletter readers, we want to hear from you. Stories can include personal experiences from you or someone that you know and support in their endeavor to cope, manage and/ or care for themselves while living with hepatitis C.
The purpose of sharing a story is so that folks can learn from others' experiences. Examples might include; what went into your decision to go through treatment, or to bypass treatment, how treatment effected you during or after, what worked and what didn't, talking with your medical provider, family and friends, etc.
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| Find A Cure Panel - REPEAT |
Hep C Connection is excited to announce an affiliation with Find A Cure Panel where people with hep C can participate in quantitative online research designed specifically for them. For every survey completed by those who register, Find A Cure Panel will donate a minimum of $25 to Hep C Connection.
You can complete the two minute profile, by clicking the logo below:
Please note that the registration profile is only used to send the specific surveys to you. FACP doesn't ask for your street address and has no offline contact with you. If you don't want to give your full name then you can use initials. For example, if you are Robert John Smith, you can sign up as "RJ Smith".
The data provided in actual surveys is completely anonymous. All the clients will see is a 16 digit number like this: 40010-1234567890. They will not know who that respondent is. This is a great way for you to impact the development of future treatment for hep C while supporting Hep C Connection. Check it out! |
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