8TH ANNUAL B A HERO AWARDS GALA DONATIONS

About SF Hep B Free

Founded in 2007, San Francisco (SF) Hep B Free is a citywide campaign aimed to turn San Francisco into the first hepatitis B free city in the nation. This unprecedented campaign will provide free and lowcost hepatitis B testing and vaccinations to Asian and Pacific Islander (API) adults at locations throughout San Francisco. The three objectives of the SF Hep B Fre Campaign are; 1) Create public and healthcare provider awareness about the importance of testing & vaccinating APIs for hepatitis B, 2) Promote routine hepatitis B testing and vaccination within the primary care medical community, 3) Ensure access to treatment for chronically infected individuals. 

Globally, 1 in 10 Asian and Pacific Islanders are chronically infected with hepatitis B, within the U.S. it is estimated 1 in 12 are chronically infected. Of these, 2 out of 3 do not know they have it, and 1 in 4 will develop liver cancer or liver disease from it. Nearly 80% of all liver cancer cases around the world are directly associated with hepatitis B, and an estimated 2 million people in the U.S. alone are chronically infected with it.

Milestones:

Our efforts to raise awareness around hepatitis B in San Francisco have led to various radio, print, television, and billboard marketing campaign efforts that have had an effective increased the knowledge of the population around hepatitis B and liver cancer. As the tourism hub of the Bay Area, our efforts to increase awareness are estimated to have impacted millions. 

Since our inception in 2007, we have performed upwards of 20,000 new screenings and vaccinations in the greater Bay Area. In 2013 and 2014 alone, we screened over 10,000 immigrants in San Francisco alone through the largest hepatitis B screening project in the country in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

We have continued to complete our goal with the hepatitis B Honor Roll to involve 100% of San Francisco Primary Care Physicians in their commitment to screen at risk patients for hepatitis B. Our ongoing work will also support health equity and health access through the Affordable Care Act and ensure that the various target communities understand the services available to them, which will now include both hepatitis B screening and vaccination with no co-pay.

The SF Hep B Free model has been so successful that it has been replicated in 15 different counties, cities, and states across the nation, and has been publicized by our leaders at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as a model for the rest of the nation.