 |
|
  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
San Francisco General Hospital
• Pull Out and Save
Reach Out and Touch Someone
Connect With Hotlines, Health Services and Support Networks in Your Area: A State-By-State Guide to AIDS Programs and Services
August 1997 Sometimes you need a specific answer to a specific question: If I miss a dose of one of my medications, should I take a double dose next time? If my employer asks if I'm HIV-positive, do I have to tell him? Sometimes you need more general information on a broader topic: Can I get a volunteer lawyer to help me draw up a will? Can I travel abroad if I'm on combination therapy? And sometimes you just need a sympathetic soul on the other end of the line, someone who understands what it's like to live with HIV.
People with HIV have lots of questions. They have questions about the many medications they are taking. They have questions about their insurance coverage and benefits plans. They have questions about their legal rights and their social responsibilities. They have awkward questions, intimate questions, burning questions -- even frivolous questions... and for all of these questions, people with HIV need answers. Healthcare providers can provide some of these answers, and family and friends can provide others. But the best place to turn for answers is to the people who specialize in fielding questions from people with HIV -- AIDS service organizations, hotlines, health services, and social support groups. The U.S. Public Health Service provides educational and treatment information on HIV and AIDS through a free, confidential service line. This hotline is staffed by specialists who provide answers to questions and supply copies of federally-approved treatment guidelines, at no charge, to people living with HIV. This service is offered in Spanish and well as English, and the Public Health Service database can be accessed through a computer link. The national hotline number is: 1-800-HIV-0440. In the end, however, the best information is likely to come from the sources closet to home -- the AIDS service organizations in your home state. To help you get in touch with those helpful people, the editors of AIDS Care have developed this state-by-state guide to HIV/AIDS service organizations in your area. Reach out... to someone who understands what it's like to live with HIV.
Back to the August 1997 AIDS Care contents page.
This article was provided by San Francisco General Hospital. It is a part of the publication AIDS Care. |
|
