National Patient Advisory Committee

Established in 2014, American Liver Foundation’s National Patient Advisory Committee, or NPAC, is comprised of people who are either living with liver disease or caregivers to people with liver disease. These advocates offer their time and energy to further ALF’s mission by generating awareness and providing a face and voice for people impacted by liver disease.

NPAC members are dedicated individuals who undergo a thorough training when onboarded. Training consists of an overview of the American Liver Foundation, a medical overview of the cohort’s disease state, and training segments for media, social media, advocacy and how to conduct ALF’s community education programs. Some advocates have been trained in peer-to-peer counseling as well as how to conduct Mind-Body Workshops. These advocates utilize this training in a number of ways:

· Promoting the ALF’s legislative priorities with their Senators and Congressmen in Washington

· Taking part in interviews with print, web-based, and televised media outlets

· Utilizing Social Media as a platform to amplify ALF’s messaging

· Conducting or taking part in community education programs

· Assisting in Facebook Support Group moderation

· Providing Peer-to-Peer counseling

· Providing a patient voice in ALF’s programming

· Contributing to the Liver Life Blog

· …and much more!

 

This committee first began with a cohort of individuals impacted by Hepatitis C. Since then, it has expanded to include six more cohorts:

· Acute Alcohol-Related Hepatitis (AAH)

· Hepatitis C (HCV)

· Hepatorenal Syndrome (HRS)*

· Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE)*

· Liver Cancer*

· Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)

· Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH)

*cohorts have members who have, or have had, other underlying liver conditions

The American Liver Foundation is grateful to the members of our National Patient Advisory Committee. It is our honor to empower them to provide a voice to the voiceless and hope to millions of Americans!