Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Researchers: Toddler cured of HIV

Excerpt from: CNN Health (click for full article)

 

It's a potential game changer in the fight against HIV, and doctors say it happened almost by accident.

A baby with the virus that causes AIDS was given high doses of three antiretroviral drugs within 30 hours of her birth. Doctors knew the mother was HIV positive and administered the drugs in hopes of controlling the virus.

Two years later, there is no evidence of HIV in the child's blood.

The Mississippi girl is the first child to be "functionally cured" of HIV, researchers announced Sunday. They said they believe early intervention with the antiretroviral drugs was key to the outcome.

A "functional cure" is when the presence of the virus is so small, lifelong treatment is not necessary and standard clinical tests cannot detect the virus in the blood.

Health Matters aims to end barriers to care for affected New Yorkers with disabilities

Excerpt from: Media dis&dat (click for full article)

 

Bailey House, which has served low-income homeless and unstably housed men, women and families living with and affected by HIV/AIDS since 1983 and The Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY (CIDNY), a leading advocate for people with disabilities that has worked for over 30 years to remove physical and social barriers and to ensure that people with disabilities have the tools they need to live independently, provide for financial needs, and enjoy equal opportunities, announce a strategic alliance to improve the health outcomes of low-income men and women living with all types of disabilities – physical, sensory, cognitive, developmental and psychiatric. 

The two agencies are launching this initiative, Health Matters - which combines their expertise in housing, case management, health coverage navigation, entitlement advocacy and legal advocacy - to end barriers to care for affected New Yorkers with disabilities.

Goals of the alliance include ending barriers to health care for disabled New Yorkers who are often forced to use costly emergency and acute care because they are unable to easily access primary care or mental health services in their communities. Three key factors that increase emergency department care by adults with disabilities include lack of access to care and prescription medications, the complexity of individuals’ health profiles, and disability status itself.

Justice Department Settles with Fayetteville Pain Center Over HIV Discrimination

Excerpt from: US Department of Justice (click for full article)

 

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with the Fayetteville Pain Center under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The settlement resolves allegations that the Fayetteville Pain Center violated the ADA by refusing to treat a woman because she has HIV.

The complainant, a woman with HIV who was suffering from back pain as a result of a car accident, visited the Fayetteville Pain Center in Fayetteville, N.C., seeking treatment.  According to the complaint, the woman was unable to obtain medical treatment because the doctor at the Fayetteville Pain Center refused to treat a person with HIV.  The ADA requires public accommodations such as doctors’ offices, medical clinics, hospitals, and other health care providers, to provide people with disabilities, including those with HIV, equal access to goods, services, and facilities.

Under the settlement, the Fayetteville Pain Center must pay $10,000 to the complainant and $5,000 to the United States in civil penalties, train its staff on the ADA, and develop and implement an anti-discrimination policy.

Research on stricken bats may help AIDS fight

Excerpt from: The Washington Post (click for full article)

 

Scientists now hope to study the immunology of bats to try to uncover findings that can assist the development of treatments for AIDS.

Meteyer said she envisions a day when “we can look closely at the mechanism driving this intense response in bats and potentially get insight into this phenomenon in humans.”

Her co-author, Judith Mandl, a research fellow for the National Institutes of Health involved in AIDS research, was also intrigued by the similarities between bat and human reactions. “When you release immune suppression, you get a response that’s a lot more damaging than helpful,” she said. The third co-author is Daniel Barber, who also works at NIH.

“You have a system set up for catastrophe,” Meteyer said, a mad army of white blood cells massed for a lethal attack. What triggers it? “They have no idea how to recognize a fungus without a chemical signal. What is the signal?”

Governor, Legislature must expand Medicaid to low-income Alabamians (opinion from Nicholas Carlisle)

Excerpt from: AL.com (click for full article)

 

As 2012 draws to a close, we reflect on the year's progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. In years past, we have celebrated medical advances, but this year the innovation that could turn the tide of HIV in the United States is not a drug. Rather, it's the prospect of access to health care for the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV, including an estimated 14,000 to 16,000 in Alabama alone.

The Affordable Care Act is now on track to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. Nationally, about 29 percent of people living with HIV are uninsured. Without insurance, these individuals are less likely to control their virus, more likely to transmit HIV to others and more likely to die of AIDS. In fact, lack of insurance and other obstacles to treatment and care in Alabama contribute to the nation's eight highest death rate among those living with HIV/AIDS -- nearly double the rates of many Northeastern, Midwestern and Pacific states.

Pennsylvania school settles ADA charges over refusal to admit student with HIV

From Business Insurance: (click for full article)

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Philadelphia-based AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania said Wednesday they have reached a $715,000 settlement with a school that refused to admit a student with HIV.

The Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pa., is a cost-free private residential school that serves children with demonstrated social and financial needs, according to the settlement agreement.

The Americans with Disabilities Act and Individuals with HIV/AIDS

From Trusight: (click for full article)

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has released new guidance confirming that individuals with HIV, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In addition, the ADA protects individuals who are discriminated against because they are regarded as having HIV or AIDS, or because they have a known association or relationship with an individual who has HIV/AIDS.

The guidance does not change an employer’s obligations under the ADA, but provides employers with a helpful reminder that they need to be mindful of the ADA in their hiring and employment practices with regard to HIV/AIDS.

When Disability Stigma Causes Disability

From Disability Blog: (click for full article)

Thirty-one years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported cases of a new disease we now know as AIDS – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

This week, the nineteenth International AIDS Conference meets in Washington, D.C. There’s hope in the air. For the first time, HIV/AIDS scientists, clinicians and policy makers think it may be possible to bring America’s HIV epidemic to an end.

We’ve made remarkable scientific and medical progress against HIV. Three decades after those first cases, we now know what causes AIDS: a previously unknown virus, identified and given the name human immunodeficiency virus, or, more commonly, HIV. We now have medicines that don’t permanently cure the virus, but keep it under control for most people who take their medications as prescribed. Today, people with HIV can lead normally healthy lives with nearly normal life expectancies.

Justice Department Releases New Document on ADA & Rights of Persons with HIV/AIDS

Excerpt From U.S. Dept. of Justice: (click for entire face sheet)

The U.S. Department of Justice has released a new fact sheet called Questions and Answers: The Americans with Disabilities Act and Persons with HIV/AIDS. This document explains the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It also describes the ADA's requirements for state and local governments, employers, and businesses and non-profit agencies that serve the public. To learn more about the enforcement activities of the department's Civil Rights Division visit Fighting Discrimination Against People with HIV/AIDS.

Health care providers settle ADA claims over not treating patients with HIV

Excerpt from Business Insurance: (click for entire article)

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached settlements with two health care providers who allegedly refused to service people with HIV in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The department said Sacramento, Calif.-based Mercy Medical Group Midtown Clinic and its parent, CHW Medical Foundation, agreed to pay $60,000 to the complainant and a $25,000 civil penalty, while Knoxville Chiropractic Clinic North in Knoxville, Tenn., is required to pay a $10,000 civil penalty.

The Justice Department announced the settlements on Friday and distributed its statement Monday.