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                              Readout of HHS Roundtable on Congenital Syphilis with National Provider Organizations
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**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 1, 2024**

        **Contact:
            ASH Media 
              202-205-0143ashmedia@hhs.gov**

          Readout of HHS Roundtable on Congenital Syphilis with National Provider Organizations
    
    

      *ADM Levine reiterated HHS's commitment to taking action to flatten the curve on congenital syphilis with a focus on those most significantly impacted.*

On Wednesday, February 28, 2024, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Health ADM Rachel L. Levine and members of the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic Federal Task Force (Task Force) met with leaders from national provider organizations to discuss efforts to protect the health of our nation’s patients and their babies. This meeting builds upon a series of conversations and engagements to respond to the U.S. syphilis and congenital syphilis epidemic.

During the roundtable, members of the Task Force highlighted the important work being done by the Biden-Harris Administration to improve access to care, advocate for syphilis testing whenever indicated, innovate screening and testing methods of intervention, initiate syphilis treatment immediately, foster an environment of open communication, and further connect organizations to available HHS resources. ADM Levine emphasized syphilis has reemerged as a major public health concern and the critical role health care providers play in reversing this alarming trend.

The following individuals participated in the meeting:

Cheryl Bellamy, DNP, MS, BSFS, RN, CNM, CNS-C, President, Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses
	Susan Bersoff-Matcha, MD, Deputy Director, Office of Women's Health, U.S. Food & Drug Administration
	Nahida Chakhtoura, MD, Branch Chief, Pregnancy and Perinatal Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
	Clare Coleman, President and CEO, National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association
	Steven Furr, MD, FAAFP, President, American Academy of Family Physicians
	Neeraj Gandotra, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
	Vijay Kannan, MD, Director, Office of Clinical Performance and Health Impact, Indian Health Service
	Sue Kendig, JD, WHNP-BC, FAANP, Director of Women's Health Nurse Practitioners Practice & Policy, Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
	Jessica Lee, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Centers for Medicaid & CHIP Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
	RADM (ret.) Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, Director, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
	Michael Phelan, MD, Center for Emergency Medicine, Cleveland Clinic on behalf of the American College of Emergency Physicians
	Radha Sadacharan, MD, MPH, Chair, Physician Certification Work Group, American College of Correctional Physicians
	Laurel Sakai, National Director of Policy, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
	Jeanne Sheffield, MD, Director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins Medicine on behalf of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
	Rose Sullivan, Counselor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services
	Michael Warren, MD, MPH, Associate Administrator, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration
	Christopher Zahn, MD, FACOG, Interim CEO and Chief, Clinical Practice and Health Equity and Quality, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  

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    Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other news materials are available at https://www.hhs.gov/news.Like HHS on Facebook, follow HHS on Twitter @HHSgov, and sign up for HHS Email Updates.Last revised: March 25, 2024

  
  
  







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  Content created by Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Content last reviewed March 25, 2024 Back to top
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