Bristol-Myers Squibb, A Hero in Hep B Awareness
October 21, 2008
Bristol-Myers Squibb, a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life, is committed to addressing the unmet medical need of hepatitis B patients around the world.
As one of the outstanding community partners of the S.F. Hep B Free campaign, BMS has raised awareness of this serious disease, especially among Asian Americans who are disproportionately impacted by it, by creating a hepatitis B advocacy team to work within the high-risk community to strengthen the existing disease awareness efforts and advocacy networks.
“The work this team undertakes is vitally important to help reach those at greater risk for hepatitis B and is just one example of our commitment in the fight against chronic hepatitis B,” said Cristi Barnett, BMS associate director of business communications. “We are committed to continuing the public dialogue about the disease and encouraging patients to get tested, get vaccinated or seek care.”
For the last four years, BMS has also collaborated with the Hepatitis B Foundation on their public education initiative, “AIM for the B-Awareness, Involvement and Mobilization for Chronic Hepatitis B,” which has emphasized the importance of active disease management.
Through this program, BMS has brought together physicians, patients and media in cities-where prevalence of chronic hepatitis B is high-to provide education and debunk common hepatitis B myths.
“It has been gratifying to work with the staff of BMS,” said Janet Zola, of the San Francisco Dept. of Public Health. “Their commitment to prevention is clear; it encompasses provider education, community group assistance and best of all, solid funding support to the S.F. Hep B Free campaign. A win-win relationship.”
BMS’ patient advocate Jordan Su-Liu has been particularly helpful to the S.F. Hep B Free campaign. For the Be A Hero gala Su-Liu was instrumental in preparing gift bags for the event, from donating to picking up items from contributors, as well as actually preparing the bags.
Su-Liu is also volunteering to organize an upcoming education event on Nov. 8 at the South Sea Seafood Village Restaurant in San Francisco.
“She has done everything from helping us get a Cantonese-speaking doctor for our event, to translating our media advisory into Chinese and printing up our handouts,” said Tamiko Wong of the AsianWeek Foundation. “Jordan consistently has a very supportive can-do attitude and is serious in her commitment to helping the SF Hep B Free campaign. We appreciate the support that BMS continues to give to our campaign and look forward to more fruitful collaborations in the future.”
For more information on Bristol-Myers Squibb visit bms.com. For more on S.F. Hep B Free visit sfhepbfree.org.
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