HIV STIGMA: NOT RETRO, JUST WRONG
In honor of World AIDS Day on December 1, physicians from Jackson Health System and UHealth – The University of Miami Health System hosted a panel titled HIV Stigma: Not Retro, Just Wrong.
World AIDS Day, held annually since 1988, serves as a way for individuals to share messages of hope, empathy and advocacy toward understanding HIV/AIDS, an epidemic that has haunted South Florida for decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV and nearly one in eight of those are not aware they are infected.
In September 2016, a “Getting to Zero” Task Force was created in collaboration with Miami-Dade County, the Florida Health Department, and the Miami-Dade HIV Partnership to address HIV/AIDS in Miami-Dade, which ranks first in Florida for the number of HIV cases countywide. Among the individuals on the task force are Jackson and UHealth physicians, working diligently toward this cause.
Jackson Health System has been on the forefront of the AIDS epidemic in Miami-Dade County. In 1986, Jackson Memorial Hospital established the South Florida AIDS Network (SFAN), the first organization in Miami-Dade to provide client advocacy/case management and related support services to people with HIV/AIDS. SFAN is now the single largest comprehensive HIV/AIDS service provider in Miami-Dade County.
“South Florida AIDS Network (SFAN) will play an active role with helping the Getting to Zero Taskforce meet its goals and objectives of reducing reported new HIV cases in Miami-Dade, and increasing the percentage of newly identified HIV-infected persons who are linked to care within 90 days of diagnosis and are receiving appropriate preventive care and treatment services in Miami-Dade County,” said Rachel Freeman, SFAN administrator.
Stephen Symes, MD, associate professor for the division of infectious diseases at the University of Miami has been treating HIV patients at Jackson Memorial since 1995. He served as keynote speaker at Jackson’s World AIDS Day event.
“While HIV can and does affect everyone, it has impacted ethnic and racial minorities at really alarming rates,” said Dr. Symes. “This points to the fact that while we have made tremendous gains in testing and treatment, effective and collaborative communication and outreach to such groups remains a challenge.”
Michael Kolbert, MD, who oversees the adult HIV clinic at Jackson Memorial, also stressed the importance of this serious health issue in our community.
“Every day for me is World AIDS Day,” Dr. Kolbert said. “We still have challenges with getting people into care but the observance serves as a reminder that this disease is still here and we have yet to find a cure.”
SFAN at Jackson provides free HIV counseling & testing services to all Miami-Dade County residents, and mental health therapy, outpatient medical care, prescription drugs, educational lectures, and other services to Miami-Dade County residents living with HIV who are determined financially eligible. For more information, call 305-585-5241 or click here.
