National Poster Contest: Three posters were submitted from New Mexico.
Proclamation of WHD in New Mexico: - A proclamation
was signed by Governor Richardson on April 1st proclaiming May 19, 2008 to be Hepatitis Awareness Day.
Press Release – Press
releases were send out to the print, radio, and television media. Local celebrity personalities on radio and television helped
to raise awareness.
Webinar – In light of the Secretary of Health’s commitment to providing educational case management resources
to persons testing positive for HCV antibodies, a webinar was held to provide public health nurses necessary information about positives
counseling, disease process, and referral services. The webinar was held on May 25.
Health Fairs:
5/12/08: El Centro Family
Health sponsored a health fair at the Walmart in Espanola from 11:00 – 3:00. Free testing and vaccine was provided to those
who qualify.
5/19/08: NM AIDS Services extended walk-in clinic hours from 5:00-7:00 to provide hepatitis and HIV
testing and hepatitis vaccination to those who qualify.
5/29/08: NM AIDS services hosted a “Smart Steps” training
for persons infected with hepatitis
5/12/08: Health Fair at San Felipe Pueblo took place. NMHCA had presence to
reach into the Native American culture.
NMHCA Quilt: 2007 Quilt was available at the above events and the 2008 Quilt will
be unveiled at the Annual Meeting in September.
Educational Brochure and DOH Hotline: UNM produced an educational brochure
to target people who are at risk for infection. The brochure will consist of brief information on what hepatitis is, provide
a 60 second risk assessment, and direct people to call a hotline for referrals to testing or HCV case management sites. The
Hotline is sponsored by DOH and answered by the health office staff in Las Cruces. The number is 1-800-DOH-HELP.
This year
brought a collaborative effort of seven community based agencies and organizations to bring the message of harm reduction. Southwest
CARE Center, New Mexico AIDS Services, Santa Fe Mountain Center, MPower, Families and Youth (FYI), Camino de Vida, New Mexico Hepatitis
C Alliance, NMDOH Harm Reduction, all brought together an effort to be very visable at the three Gay Pride events. As noted
below, these events were a hugh success for Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe.
Thank you thank you and congratulations to
the many folks who collaborated to make our outreach/prevention services a huge success at Albuquerque Gay Pride this past Saturday,
June 14th!
The numbers clearly speak for themselves:
- Over 1,500 safer sex kits were distributed along the parade
route by NMAS volunteers - each containing a card with our collaborative theme, agency logos and highlighting the new www.nmhivguide.org web
site!
- More than 450 people completed the "scavenger hunt" surveys and got themselves a free "I'm _____ and I'm proud"
t-shirt to customize with stickers and/or fabric pens.
- At least 188 unduplicated persons registered at Santa Fe Mountain
Center and tried the climbing wall, most of them accompanied by a staffer or Americorps member who sold them on HIV prevention interventions
all the way up.
- At least 35 persons got Hepatitis A and/or B vaccines, according to a preliminary count.
While
there were a few small barriers and lessons learned from this first attempt to provide a statewide collaborative HIV Prevention outreach
(i.e. we need to come really early to ensure that our spots really are all adjacent to each other), this huge success is a great testament
to everyone's collaborative teamwork.
