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New edition to the Community Nursing team Christine Barea

Christine Barea was born in Matamata. She has been a registered nurse for 33 years and has had the opportunity to travel and work in various countries, including the USA.Christine has experience working in different areas of nursing, such as ICU, Cardiology, Surgical and Endocrinology, and for the last 10 years, she worked as a District Nurse in Cambridge where she enjoyed her role in the community.She is not afraid of change and finds it stimulating. Christine looks forward to working for the H...

Life just got easier for a Whakatane High School student beginning Health Science next year

Mia Shepherd has won a Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand scholarship, which will contribute $10,000 towards her study over three years. The foundation will also provide a mentor to support Mia during her studies.Mia has been accepted into The University of Otago’s 2023 Bachelor of Science, Health Science first-year programme.  “I am very passionate about Science and love to be around and help others where I can. Therefore, I am really keen to have a career in either Medicine or Pharma...

Hepatitis Foundation wrap up for 2022

This year has been another busy one for us, with our clinical team reviewing 1016 patient cases and 2998 calls coming through our helpline. There have also been 683 people with hepatitis B referred to us, 32,791 patient emails and letters sent, and 23,177 blood test forms provided to patients. Our nursing team has done 326 fibroscans.Over the past year we have focused on encouraging patients to receive blood test forms and results by email, saving money on postage and making the process more sec...

Fielddays 2022 with Hep C Community Service

The Hepatitis Foundation joined forces with Hep C - Community Service, to attend Fieldays 2022. There was a whole Health and Wellbeing section that was well attended with health experts and organisations in one area.Check out the photos of our staff and stand, and Helen even performing our new Point of Care finger prick testing....

New Nurse joins Hepatitis Foundation in Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland)

This month sees Selena McCloskey join the Hepatitis Foundation. After graduating as a nurse in 2006, Selena spent many years working as a Staff Nurse at Starship Children’s Hospital, initially in general paediatrics before specialising in paediatric cardiology.Bureau nursing after the birth of her second child afforded Selena the opportunity to join Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) during the 2019 Measles outbreak in Auckland. Early 2020 saw the emergence of a new virus of conce...

Hepatocellular carcinoma screening in people with chronic hepatitis B

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most serious common complication of hepatitis B (HBV). International data suggests a lifetime risk of about 15 percent, and this increases with age. While many cases occur in people with cirrhosis, some arise in non-fibrotic livers as a result of HBV integration into the host cell genome.Diagnosis of HCC following clinical presentation has a poor prognosis: less than five percent of people in these cases survive past five years (El-Sarag & Davila, 2011)....

Interpretation services for cultural communication

The Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand (HFNZ) strives continuously to engage with patients from different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities and demographics. Its multicultural team helps with this, ensuring patients can connect with clinical and administrative staff members who can identify with and understand them.The foundation’s new partnership with Australian-based organisation Connecting Now has enhanced its patient connection abilities. Founded in 2002 to help communities connect in th...

New Nurse Manager internal promotion for Jillian White

We are pleased to announce that Jillian White (Tuhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa) one of our Community Nurses has been promoted to Nurse Manager. Jillian has been a Hepatitis Community Nurse covering Waikato & Lakes Districts for the Hepatitis Foundation for the past 6 years. Specialising in Chronic Hepatitis B, working in partnership with patients along with primary and secondary care to ensure best practice and health engagement for all our patients.Jillian has a specific interest in ...

Dr Wayne Bai choses to support patients with Hepatitis

During his medical training, Dr Wayne Bai was asked to review a Chinese man in his late 30s who’d just been diagnosed with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The man’s condition was due to untreated chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and Wayne says it was a devastating situation for him and his family with a newborn. It was also avoidable. “Liver cancer is a preventable disease thanks to hepatitis B (HBV) immunoglobulin at birth, HBV vaccination and direct-acting antivirals,” Wayne says. �...

New testing for Hepatitis B

The point of care (POC) finger prick testing, introduced by the Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand (HFNZ) is the first of its kind for hepatitis B in NZ. It’s easy to use and less invasive than blood tests, and is highly accurate.  Hepatitis B is often called a silent disease as there are often no symptoms until liver damage occurs, so people may not know they have it. Māori, Pacific Island and east Asian people are considered high risk, as is anyone with a mother or close family member...

Welcome to our newest Community Nurse Emily Huang

Flexibility and autonomy are highlights of Hepatitis Foundation of NZ nurse Emily Huang’s role, along with helping patients live healthier lives. Emily works with the foundation’s other Auckland-based nurses to cover the city and wider area. She started in May 2022 and says she’s enjoying the role so far. “This job draws on my previous experience working in a GP practice. There’s a lot of virtual and phone interaction with patients in this job, which is related to my previous role...

World Hepatitis Day 2022

Today, World Hepatitis Day (WHD) launches with the campaign theme ‘I Can’t Wait’. On WHD, the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) joins together with its global network of 320 members in 100 countries to lead the campaign internationally to accelerate the fight against viral hepatitis.The ‘I Can’t Wait’ campaign theme builds on the previous Hepatitis Can’t Wait global campaign, and highlights the social injustice and inequity caused by the current lack of action on hepatitis elimin...

Helen Purcell has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

At the end of May our community nurse Mrs Helen Purcell, of Kawerau, was presented with her MNZM for services to public health nursing. Having been awarded it in the New Years' honours. Helen Purcell helped set up an STD Clinic in Whakatane and was the infection control nurse for tuberculosis.She was the hepatitis community nurse with the Hepatitis Foundation. She helped the Foundation drive purpose-built caravans around the North Island to test people and provide follow-up care and support...

Dr Chris Moyes receives his ONZM, for services to health

Dr Chris Moyes has been Medical Director of the Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand for many years in addition to his work as a paediatrician, and this year was awarded The New Zealand Order of Merit. He received the honour at the Wellington Investitures held on 10 May 2022.In the 1980s, he played a key role in researching hepatitis B (HBV), as children in parts of New Zealand had high infection rates. As a result, the Ministry of Health introduced an HBV immunisation programme for children.He w...

Introducing Lucy Rio

Whakapapa – Taranaki – Ngā Rauru, Aitutaki – Cook Islands.Born and raised in the heart of Tūhoe. Tāneatua, WaimanaLucy took on the newly created Māori Engagement Co-ordinator this year. The role was identified by the foundation as imperative to be able to engage and collaborate with Health Providers and Iwi Authorities to deliver the service provided by The Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand.With a work plan established, Lucy was able to start with a blank canvas as to how to approach...

Appreciating our community Nurses

Today we’re joining the International Council of Nurses in celebrating nurses everywhere. Especially our wonderful community hepatitis nurses, Lynnaire, Helen, Siaw Ling, Becky, Jillian, Nicola and Diane, who work tirelessly to support New Zealanders with liver conditions, and they do a fabulous job ensuring people get the help and advice they need.Thanks we really appreciate everything you do.#IND2022 #VOICETO LEAD...

Working from home

To keep our staff safe as the Omicron numbers continue to increase, all our staff will be working from home from Friday 25th February until further notice.Our call centre will still be available should you need any help.Please call: 0800 33 20 10...

Office will remain open at red level

With all NZ now at the red level to combat Omicron, our admin staff will work from the office on a rotation system in teams. Our nurses are working online only, so will not be doing patient or GP visits. This will continue until levels are revised.We won't be holding fibroscans or holding patient clinics until further notice, but people can still visit our office provided they wear masks, scan in and follow social distancing requirements. We can provide masks for anyone who may not have one.&nbs...

Queen’s Honour recognition for long-time hepatitis community nurse

Community nurse Helen Purcell has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her dedication to supporting New Zealanders with hepatitis B. A long-serving staff member at the Hepatitis Foundation of NZ (HFNZ), Helen says she was touched to hear of the award. “I’m overwhelmed to receive such a high honour. I’m passionate about making a difference to people’s lives and helping people with hepatitis B manage their...

Queen’s Honours recognise doctor’s dedication to hepatitis B patients

Paediatrician and hepatitis B expert Dr Chris Moyes has been appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to healthcare over the past 42 years, which he describes as an incredible journey.This journey started when Chris came to NZ from England in 1979 and began work as the first permanent specialist paediatrician at Whakatane Hospital. He soon became interested in the Eastern Bay of Plenty’s high hepatitis B rates, forming a partnership with colleague Sandy Milne tha...

NZ presence on hepatology board

Congratulations to Kelly Hayes, our operations manager, who has been appointed to the Australasian Hepatology Association board for 2022.Kelly is the sole New Zealand representative on the board. She and her fellow board members are committed to building on the association's achievements and implementing the 2021-2024 Strategic Plan to ensure Australasian hepatology nurses and allied health professionals have a strong voice....

2021/22 holiday hours

Our office will be closed from 12pm on Friday, December 24. We will reopen at 8am on Monday, January 10, 2022. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and wonderful holiday break with whānau and friends....

Christmas prizes up for grabs!

If you live in the Rotorua/Bay of Plenty areas, are registered with us and overdue for your hepatitis B blood test, simply get yourself up to date by December 17 and you're in the draw. It really is that easy. Winners will be contacted on December 20. Contact us on 0800 33 20 10 or email hepteam@hfnz if you need more info.* Colours may differ from that shown in images...

Registration open for viral hepatitis conference

The Australasian Viral Hepatitis Conference (May 29 - 31, 2022) is a platform for the dissemination and presentation of new research findings and better management across the Australasian viral hepatitis sector.The forum aims to support the health workforce, government and community to work toward eliminating hepatitis B and hepatitis C and supporting people living with these conditions in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia and Pacific regions....

Beating 'lockdown liver'

Lockdowns have a reputation for causing people to gain weight. Boredom, stress and frustration lead us to turn to comfort food and alcohol. But as lockdown restrictions begin to ease around New Zealand, many people are turning their attention to getting in shape for the coming summer. If you’re one of them and you want to get rid of ‘lockdown liver’, here are some tips that may help.Take a breakConsider having an alcohol-free period (a week, a month, it’s up to you) to let your liver rec...