Test, Treat, Cure
We are the Coalition on Positive Health Empowerment (COPE). Our name says it all. A coalition of peers, including medical and non-medical people who have come together to improve the patient-care model. COPE was initially established to provide care and support for people that are Hepatitis C positive, but we have since expanded towards improving people’s health and well-being. As a peer-led group that provides advocacy and education in addition to testing, COPE’s goal is empowerment.
COPE provides an array of services that may be helpful to anyone. However, COPE is most effective in assisting a those who are not effectively engaged in the traditional health care system. It is not an alternative to tradition health care but rather a complementary system. By being peer-led, as well as a coalition that includes health care providers, COPE has been able to gain the trust both of patients and caregivers to maximize the efficacy of health care. The ultimate goal is empowerment of the individual and the community.
About COPE
Nobody else has offered to have someone escort me. [My COPE Advocate] stayed with me till the very end. Till we walked to the subway, and she went her way and I went mine.
— Duc
