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Hudson River Health Care (HRHCare) is pleased to announce that Christine Kerr, MD, a doctor at The HRHCare Poughkeepsie Health Center located at 75 Washington Street, has been selected by Governor Andrew Cuomo to join his Task Force that will advise the state on its Hepatitis C Elimination Plan. The creation of the Task Force is the next step toward finalizing the Elimination Plan and builds on recommendations presented by community stakeholders at the New York State Hepatitis C Elimination Summit.
“The members selected for this task force are some of the finest in their fields, and their invaluable experience will provide us with the information we need to develop an attainable elimination plan,” Governor Cuomo said. “This strategic plan will not only improve the quality of life for those living with hepatitis C, but also ensure that New Yorkers have the support and resources they need to prevent this disease.”
More than 100,000 New Yorkers are living with hepatitis C—a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus—and most are unaware that they have it. Three out of four people living with hepatitis C are baby boomers. It is spread by blood to blood contact, with the most common risk factor for hepatitis C being injection drug use. Over the past decade, there has been a shift in the distribution of hepatitis C cases, with a distinct peak emerging among younger people aged 20 to 40, which has been fueled in part by the growing opioid epidemic.
Dr. Kerr is an infectious disease specialist who sees patients at HRHCare’s health centers in Poughkeepsie and Beacon. In 2017, Dr. Kerr was chosen to receive the New York State Commissioner’s Special Award for her work in hepatitis C care.
