Mon Health Medical Center Family Birth Center Receives Hepatitis B Prevention Program Award

Members of the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources present Mon Health Medical Center Family Birth Center and Quality staff with the Hepatitis B Prevention Program Award on Friday, January 27, 2023.

The Family Birth Center at Mon Health Medical Center recently received an award from the West Virginia Division of Immunization Services (WVDIS) for their contributions to the Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program.

Each U.S. state participates in a Hep. B Prevention Program which originated in 1991 from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the CDC’s initiative to eliminate Hep. B transmission. These programs work in collaboration with local health departments, physicians, and hospitals to identify and track infants who are born to mothers infected with Hep. B.

Mon Health Medical Center has provided information to the WVDIS to enable them to track infants born with disease exposure. This allows the WVDIS to follow those infants to ensure they are fully vaccinated to help eliminate Hep. B in West Virginia.

“The Family Birth Center and Quality partnered with the WV Department of Health & Human Resources to establish a process for identifying and reporting to protect our most precious and vulnerable patients,” said Margaret Wright, System Senior Director of Quality, Mon Health System. “We’re proud of our teams for consistently prioritizing the health and well-being of the communities we serve, one person at a time.”

Hep. B is a serious liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The virus is spread by exposure to HBV infected blood or body fluid. While many experience no symptoms, others may develop a rapid onset of sickness including nausea, vomiting, jaundice, fatigue, dark urine, and abdominal pain. Chronic Hep. B is a lifelong infection that can progress to conditions such as hardening of the liver, scarring, and even liver cancer.

The immune systems of infants and young children aren’t fully developed, which leaves them more vulnerable to contracting the virus if exposed at birth or early childhood. Once children and infants are immunized for Hep. B, they are protected from contracting it for life.

To learn more about the Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program, visit OEPS.WV.GOV.