West Virginia Hepatitis Academic Mentorship Partnership (WVHAMP)

  • WVHAMP is currently (due to COVID 19) a tele-mentorship training program designed to support primary care providers to diagnose, evaluate and manage their patients with chronic hepatitis C developed in consultation with West Virginia Medicaid​

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  • WVHAMP provides a mentorship platform accessible for primary care providers caring for high-risk individuals throughout West Virginia, especially in rural settings

This is crucial as West Virginia has the highest rate of new acute hepatitis C infections in the nation! 

Goal of WVHAMP: to improve the health of individuals in underserved communities by building a primary care workforce trained by experts to screen, diagnose, offer curative treatment, and follow persons with chronic hepatitis C.

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WVHAMP is a free, easily accessible training program that will be held virtually. It will meet the needs of both primary care providers interested in providing hepatitis C care and current West Virginia Medicaid requirements

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WVHAMP primary care providers will receive training on hepatitis C epidemiology, diagnosis, management, curative treatment, follow-up and prevention. Thus, primary care providers throughout the state will be equipped with the skills needed to treat and cure patients with hepatitis C in their local communities. This will increase the number of individuals who are cured and help to reduce the number of West Virginians who can transmit hepatitis C to another person. 

The next WVHAMP #1 training

will be held virtually on 

Tuesday, October 13th

7:30am-5:30pm

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Registration will be available on the WV Rural Health Association website

https://wvrha.org/

Interested providers will...

  • Attend an initial daylong in-person training (WVHAMP #1)- see registration form at the West Virginia Rural Health Association website

  • Make a commitment to participate in WVHAMP training for at least 12 months

  • Receive both a hard copy of WVHAMP training materials/toolkit and online access at the West Virginia Rural Health Association website via a designated link

  • Utilizing WVHAMP training, diagnose and evaluate patient for potential treatment/cure

  • Enter data into REDCap, a HIPAA-compliant site in the Cloud

  • Have access to WVHAMP mentors for consultation and backup for complicated cases

  •  Participate in bimonthly WVHAMP educational webinars with access to special topic presentations and discussion of cases

  • Attend an in-person or virtual half-day (WVHAMP #2) approximately 3 months later to receive updated hepatitis C treatment information. Providers will present challenges and patient cases to their peers and the WVHAMP Mentoring Team for feedback and guidance

  • Receive a free annual membership to the West Virginia Rural Health Association

  • Receive free CME credits for participation

  • Be awarded a WVHAMP Scholar Certificate at the completion of WVHAMP

  • Continue to have access in the future to the Mentoring Team for guidance on specific cases as needed

  • Provide primary care providers with the satisfaction of having cured a chronic disease that can be fatal!

  • Ultimately, receive a designation as a recognized hepatitis specialist by West Virginia Medicaid after they have managed and cured a sufficient number of patients according to Medicaid