ASMP In Action
Latest News & Activities
We are all about action here at the American Society for Meningitis Prevention. Below you can read all about our latest initiatives and activities to help prevent meningococcal meningitis. All activities before 2024 were conducted under the Meningitis B Action Project.
2024
Present at World’s First High-Level Meeting on Defeating Meningitis
April 26, 2024
Preventing Meningitis from Denver and Philadelphia
The World Health Organization convened delegates from across the globe to hold the first high-level meeting to defeat meningitis at the Institut Pasteur in France on Friday, April 26, 2024. Our co-executive director, Alicia Stillman, had the opportunity to present her personal experience and our work. Learn more about this important milestone.
In March 2024, we participated in the National Conference on Pediatric Health Care in Denver, Colorado, where we were among over 1,200 attendees dedicated to advancing their practice and careers in the field. Following this event, we journeyed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where we engaged with hundreds of immunization coalitions and partners at the National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships (NCICP). Together, we collaborated to forge partnerships to enhance immunization updates, educate communities, and staunch the spread of disease. We even ran into our Medical Council member, Dr. Mary Beth Koslap-Petraco!
Spring 2024
American Society for Meningitis Prevention Launches
The Meningitis B Action Project, a leading nationwide initiative founded in 2017 to prevent Meningitis B, proudly announces it will transform into the American Society for Meningitis Prevention (ASMP). This evolution reflects our broader mission and continued commitment to preventing all types of meningococcal meningitis.
March 7, 2024
2023
Meningitis Advocacy Training in New Rochelle, New York
October 10-11, 2023
The Meningitis B Action Project, a leading nationwide initiative founded in 2017 to prevent Meningitis B, proudly announces it will transform into the American Society for Meningitis Prevention (ASMP). This evolution reflects our broader mission and continued commitment to preventing all types of meningococcal meningitis.
World Meningitis Day 2023
October 5, 2023
To help navigate the changing meningitis prevention landscape, we convened 200+ advocates and healthcare providers on World Meningitis Day (WMD) for an update on the latest issues affecting meningitis vaccination and how we can best prepare for the road ahead. Watch the webinar.
AAP: Meningococcal Disease in Preteens, Teens & Young Adults
August 1, 2023
Patti and Alicia shared their experience with Meningitis B with fellow parents in a recent publication on healthychildren.org from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
This piece is a great resource to share with parents as a one-stop shop on how to protect against meningococcal disease.
New Podcast Episode: Meningitis Stories and Advocacy with Patti and Alicia
March 28, 2023
Co-founders, Patti and Alicia, were recently guests on the Ambiguously Blind podcast where they discussed their experience with meningitis advocacy in honor and memory of each of their daughters – Kimberly Coffey and Emily Stillman – who both lost their lives to Meningitis B before the MenB vaccine was available in the U.S. to help protect them.
Promoting Adolescent Health at SAHM 2023
March 7-10, 2023
We traveled to Chicago to attend the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) annual meeting. We had the opportunity to educate many people working to improve the health and well-being of adolescents and young adults about meningococcal disease and how it can be prevented.
Meningitis B Action Project Dinner Club Launched in Salt Lake City, Utah!
January 26, 2023
We believe the best conversations happen over a delicious meal! That’s why we’ve launched the Meningitis B Action Project Dinner Club. The Dinner Club is designed to encourage an open discussion about barriers to meningococcal meningitis prevention and how we can work together to overcome those challenges. Our first stop was Salt Lake City, Utah! Not only did we have the privilege to hear and discuss with leading advocates in the space, but we left with tangible insights on how to best tailor our advocacy and education work in Utah. Thank you to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Utah Public Health Association, BYU Nursing School, Utah Health Policy Project, Utah Adult Immunization Coalition, Utah County Immunization Coalition, Association for Utah Community Health, and Utah Medical Association. Next up, Massachusetts!
2022
Meningitis B College Tour Kicked Off in California
October 11, 2022
We kicked off our Meningitis B College Tour at the University of California, Riverside Health Center where we had the chance to connect with health center staff and students to highlight why Meningitis B prevention is especially important on college campuses!
Presenting and Exhibiting at AAP
October, 2022
This month we had the opportunity to exhibit and present our work at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting to help make sure all pediatricians are talking to their patients about the Meningitis B vaccine!
Responding to the Current MenC Outbreak and MenB Cluster in Florida: A Policy-Focused Educational Webinar
June 28, 2022
The Meningitis B Action Project recently partnered with The AIDS Institute to host a policy-focused educational webinar on meningococcal meningitis in response to the current MenC outbreak and MenB cluster in Florida. The webinar targeted policymakers and HCPs to emphasize the urgency of more education among affected communities, including Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM), and the short- and long-term value of meningococcal meningitis vaccination requirements for both MenACWY and MenB to control and prevent future outbreaks. It featured a medical overview, personal stories, and a policy case study from the Indiana Immunization Coalition.
Listen here and please contact us if you’d like to host a similar webinar in your state.
Meningococcal Vaccination Algorithm for Providers Now Available
June 2, 2022
Recent studies have shown that the current ACIP recommendations for meningitis vaccinations are not always fully understood or applied consistently by healthcare providers. For that reason, the Meningitis B Action Project has developed an easy-to-reference algorithm to facilitate meningococcal vaccination in clinical practice.
This resource was developed by the Meningitis B Action Project. All information included has been reviewed by the Meningitis B Action Project medical council.
Helping to Protect the Modern Teen: A Panel Discussion
May 12, 2022
As a mother who lost her daughter, Kimberly, to Meningitis B, Patti was honored to share Kim’s story at the Ask2BSure MAMARAZZI Event with The MOMS and Soleil Moon Frye in Hollywood.
Patti was joined by fellow panelists to highlight the importance of ensuring teens are protected and prepared throughout their teenage years.
During this event, Patti was able to emphasize the importance of talking to your teen’s healthcare provider about both types of meningitis vaccines — MenACWY and MenB — with hundreds of mothers from across the country.
To learn more about how to protect your teen, watch the full event here.
Philadelphia Immunization Coalition: Spring 2022 Conference
May 11, 2022
To help get patients back on track with routine vaccinations we shared the importance of preventing Meningitis B in young adults as well as some of our newly created resources including our Meningitis B Student Hub and Meningitis Algorithm with 120+ attendees at the Spring 2022 Philadelphia Immunization Coalition.
Launched Meningitis B Student Hub
February 9, 2022
The new Meningitis B Student Hub was specifically designed for peer health educators and students with simple key messages to help explain the disease, educational materials for download, sample presentations, and even inspirational podcasts from other peer health educators across the country. It also includes ideas for activating a Meningitis B education campaign on campus and suggestions for engaging student health centers and college administrators to advocate for better Meningitis B prevention measures on campus.
2021
Ask2BSure A Public Health Awareness Campaign
Fall 2021
GSK launched Ask2BSure to encourage parents to talk with their child’s healthcare provider to be sure they have received their Meningitis B vaccination. GSK has pledged to donate $1 for every unique view of the campaign video (up to $10,000) to the Meningitis B Action Project!
National Association of School Nurses Lunch & Learn
September 30, 2021
Today we had the opportunity to speak to the National Association of School Nurses along with Alex Singer from VaxTeen on improving adolescent vaccination rates - including #MeningitisB!
School nurses are our front line to reaching students and their parents, and making sure they have the resources and insights to do so is incredibly important.
Back to School Media Tour
August 23, 2021
To promote the importance of adolescent immunizations, Dr. Tamera Coyne-Beasley, Endowed Chair, Adolescent Medicine – University of Alabama Birmingham, joined us to speak with 28 television and radio stations. We were able to reach 5 million+ people across the country and counting. Check out this short video highlighting some of our interviews.
MenB Action Project on AANP Podcast: NP Pulse: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®
August 11, 2021
Nurse practitioners Audrey Stevenson and our medical council member, Mary Beth Koslap-Petraco, spoke with Patti and Alicia to discuss all things Meningitis B on the official podcast of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners: NP Pulse: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®. They covered everything from strategies to support shared clinical decision-making in clinical practice to the power of sharing personal anecdotes to support young adults and their parents in opting for the MenB vaccine. Available here https://www.aanp.org/podcast and on all other podcast platforms.
Our Latest Initiative: Families Against
COVID-19
May 11, 2021
After each losing our daughters to Meningitis B, a vaccine-preventable disease, we know very well why vaccination is so critical. Although the MenB vaccine is available today, it wasn’t yet available to protect Kim and Emily when they passed away. Today, we all have a chance to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities from COVID-19 by getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
That is why we’ve joined together with other families to leave no stone unturned when it comes to educating communities about COVID-19 prevention and the COVID-19 vaccine. To help us do that, we’ve launched a new joint initiative called Families Against COVID-19.
World Meningitis Day 2021: Radio Media Tour
April 24, 2021
Patti and Alicia began World Meningitis Day by speaking with 25 radio stations throughout the country to share why Meningitis B vaccination is so important with over 44.3 million people!
World Meningitis Day 2021: Day of Action
April 24, 2021
The Meningitis B Action Project facilitated its 3rd Annual Day of Action Against Meningitis B on World Meningitis Day. Together, with their B-team, they were able to accomplish advocacy actions in 26 states to help increase awareness of Meningitis B and how it can be prevented.
We also partnered with 10 organizations to carry out a social media channel takeover which enabled us to educate and reach new audiences!
A Campaign to Get Needles in College Students’ Arms
March 24, 2021
We spoke with The Chronicle of Higher Education to highlight the importance of colleges and universities requiring the Meningitis B vaccine on campus to protect students–especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Featured in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Newsletter
March 9, 2021
Patti and Alicia were interviewed by the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and shared their stories and strategies to help parents ensure their children are as protected as possible from meningococcal disease. Their interview was included in the March Edition of their Parents PACK newsletter which reaches over 43,000 parents!
Check out the interview here.