LOS ANGELES, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest AIDS organization in the U.S. which offers free AIDS treatment services at its 14 clinics in the U.S., today announced it is continuing to provide desperately-needed medical services to HIV/AIDS patients displaced by Hurricane Katrina who are struggling to obtain treatment as local clinics remain closed and the majority of healthcare workers have also been evacuated from the area. Since the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, issued general guidance last week to HIV/AIDS medical providers to treat any HIV-positive individuals in the short-term, the AHF Magic Johnson Healthcare Center in Jacksonville, Florida and AHF’s Healthcare Center at the Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angles have already begun receiving referrals. AHF is also offering medical care to evacuees at all of its clinics throughout California and Florida. Additionally, AHF recently sent a corps of 12 nurses in the Florida area to volunteer for the rescue effort, as well as one nurse from California to work with the Red Cross in Texas. Access to medications is vital for HIV-positive evacuees as regimen inconsistency can lead to drug- resistance and reduced treatment effectiveness. To assist in filling this urgent need for life-saving medications, AHF has also been filling mail-order prescriptions at its Miami pharmacy and is offering to do so at all of its pharmacies.
“AIDS Healthcare Foundation is grateful to be able to assist those who, in addition to enduring the devastating losses caused by the hurricane and its aftermath, are facing the particular challenge of accessing necessary HIV/AIDS treatment and services,” said Donna Stidham, R.N., AHF’s Chief of Managed Care. “As the largest specialized provider of HIV medical care in the U.S., with facilities in Florida and California, we are in a unique position to offer assistance to HIV-positive evacuees as they re-establish themselves and their health in new locations. Compassion dictates that we do all that is necessary to ensure that lack of access to medical care does not compound the tragedy of the past few weeks and to help ensure positive health outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS struggling to regain normalcy after this unprecedented disaster.”
According to Snapshots of Hurricane Katrina’s Effect on the AIDS Community, a www.TheBody.com special report by Bonnie Goldman, September 8, 2005: “Lost in the maelstrom of chaos that has followed Hurricane Katrina is the severe impact the storm has had on one very specific group: people living with HIV. Thousands of HIVers, along with the hundreds who once provided them with health services and support, are among those whom the hurricane has forced from their homes. Now, many people with HIV are struggling to regain the assistance they need, while their providers are struggling to get it to them. The entire HIV/AIDS infrastructure -- AIDS organizations, clinical trial networks, clinics, food delivery, hospitals, AIDS Drug Assistance Program services, etc. -- in New Orleans and other areas in the Gulf Coast has been decimated, with workers and clients now dispersed throughout the region.”
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
CONTACT: Lori Yeghiayan, AHF Communications Specialist, +1-323-860-5227,cell +1-323-377-4312
