SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane County has one of the highest rates of Hepatitis C rates in Washington State.
At the U.S. Pavilion Monday night, the Spokane Hepatitis C Work Group alongside other organizations, held an event in an effort to change that: The Hep-C Free Spokane Health Fair.
Dr. Bridget Eller, supervisor for Providence Health’s Pharmacotherapy Clinic, and member of the work group, was one of the organizers.
“In my role within Providence, I treat patients with Hepatitis C almost every single day,” said Eller. “I was surprised to hear what the numbers for Spokane County were for the number of people infected with Hepatitis C.”Eller also shared that all members of the Spokane Hepatitis C Work Group are volunteers. They worked in collaboration with CHAS, Spokane Regional Health District, Providence Health, NAMI, Molina Healthcare and Range Community Clinic to organize the health fair.
“The point of today’s health fair was really to focus on increasing awareness to the community and being able to offer testing for them.”
The health fair also featured the Elimination Awareness Tour, a mobile unit providing Hepatitis C testing that welcomes anyone 18 and over to get a free screening for the virus.The event served as a ‘one-stop shop:’ test results were given within the hour, and those who test positive were set up with follow-up care at the health fair as well.
“There are treatments available that cure Hepatitis C,” Eller said. About 95 percent of Hepatitis C cases are completely treatable.The Centers for Disease Control recommends that every adult be screened for Hepatitis C as the infection can cause serious damage to the liver, and many people carrying the virus go without symptoms.
