A Nurse-Led International Crusade to Promote Liver Health, Prevention, and Education

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On episode 368 of The Nurse Keith Show nursing and healthcare career podcast, Keith interview Thelma King Thiel, RN, popularly known as “The Liver Lady”.

Thelma King Thiel’s crusade against liver disease began five decades ago when she lost her infant son Dean to a rare and fatal liver disease. She has been a tireless advocate for promoting liver education and prevention of liver diseases while serving as the CEO of the American Liver Foundation, the Hepatitis Foundation International, current co-founder and Chair of the Liver Health Initiative and founder of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable.

Ms. Thiel has trained thousands of healthcare providers with her Foundation for Decision Making program in collaboration with SAMHSA, CDC, OMH, the University of North Texas, the University of Illinois, and local and state health departments.

Having served as a Commissioner on the National Commission on Digestive Diseases and as an advisor to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, Ms. Thiel has produced 15 award-winning DVDs on liver health and the prevention of hepatitis and substance abuse, and was featured in a documentary called The Visionary that aired on 140 PBS stations.

Ms. Thiel mounted an international awareness campaign promoting the adoption of liver information/education in schools, government, and military agencies in order to fill a global need for promoting the prevention of drug abuse, hepatitis, obesity, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, and 13 types of cancers related to obesity. She is a frequently published author of articles promoting liver health education and broadly acclaimed coloring books for children in both English and Spanish.

Internationally recognized as The Liver Lady, Thelma’s Liver Health Education Curriculum and script of her unique and motivational communication techniques were recently included in the US Public Health Service’s National Prevention Strategy. LHI is currently collaborating with the USDA’s Abriendo Caminos research project promoting the prevention of obesity among Hispanic-heritage families in Chicago. The University of North Texas Health Science Center is also collaborating with LHI making liver health information available to university students and schools in surrounding communities. Ms. Thiel is the co-author of the NASH Care Act introduced in Congress.

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