Posted on May 08, 2014
Baby boomers were the focus of six free hepatitis C testing events the first week in May, which were organized to mark Hepatitis Awareness Month & Older Americans Month. The events were coordinated by the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) with support from Generation Tomorrow.
“Know More Hepatitis” was the event theme, borrowed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention campaign of the same name, which encourages people born between 1945-1965 to get tested. More than 75% of people with hepatitis C were born between those years.
The testing events kicked off on May 1st at the Waxter Senior Center in downtown Baltimore where everyone who stopped by was offered free food, dance classes, and rapid and confirmatory tests for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Everyone tested was entered into a raffle for prizes. Event speakers included Dr. Seun Falade-Nwulia, Medical Director of the BCHD HIV Early Intervention Initiative, Arnold Eppel, BCHD Director of Office of Aging & CARE Services, and Fred Jones, Generation Tomorrow peer health worker. Subsequent events were held at other senior centers throughout the city including the Sandtown Winchester Senior Center, the Hatton Senior Center, the Oliver Senior Center, the Zeta Center for Health, and the Myerberg Senior Center.
Approximately 164 people were tested through these targeted events. Volunteers from Sisters Together and Reaching, Women Accepting Responsibility, the Vaccine is Prevention Hepatitis C testing project, and Generation Tomorrow worked alongside BCHD staffers to register, test and counsel all attendees.
