Palm Beach County, Florida, Selected for AIDS Project

Palm Beach County is one of four US locations selected for a two-year pilot project aimed at finding those in minority communities who have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS but are not receiving care.

The project is a spin-off from the earlier, federally funded program Rapid Assessment Response and Evaluation project -- a public health strategy to reduce HIV/AIDS in minority communities. Field researchers will go into neighborhoods and communities to seek out people who are not being treated, determine why not, and then link them with help, said Dr. Mitchell Durant, coordinator of HIV/AIDS programs for the Palm Beach Health Department. "The next step is going to help us understand how we can improve access to the care and try to reduce disparities in access to care services," Durant said.

Congressional representatives, county officials and mayors have been invited to a September 16 meeting at the Jane Thompson Memorial Chambers in West Palm Beach to learn more about the project. "That meeting will provide a lot more details on the program," said Chris Carroll, project manager for the county's Ryan White Title I HIV/AIDS funding program.

Speakers at the meeting will include research scientists Richard Conviser and Moses Pounds of the national Health Resources and Service Administration's Office of Science and Epidemiology; Leah Kedar, national leader of the project; and Christopher Bates, acting director of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of HIV/AIDS Policy.

Back to other news for September 11, 2003