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Date of Report:
06/2007
Source:
Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center (MATEC)
On April 27th, 2007, 125 participants, 65
percent of which were physicians,
nurses, physician assistants, and
other clinicians from throughout the
Midwest region, traveled to Chicago, Illinois
for the Committed to Caring: African
American and Latino Clinicians Responding
to HIV/AIDS symposium. The symposium
was coordinated by the Midwest AIDS
Training and Education Center (MATEC) in
response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in
African American and Latino communities.
As a Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) program,
the goal of the symposium was to provide
training for African American and Latino
clinicians on the diagnosis and treatment of
HIV/AIDS. Through workshops and plenary
sessions, this program targeted both
clinicians who are currently providing care to
patients with HIV/AIDS and clinicians
interested in pursuing this important area of
clinical medicine. The following topics were
addressed:
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Need for more minority providers. |
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Integrating HIV testing into regular
practice |
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Antiretroviral therapy (ART) |
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Managing ART treatment failure |
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New antiretroviral agents |
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HIV in women and adolescents |
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HIV, mental health, and substance use |
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Coping with clients who continue to
place themselves at risk |
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To complement and expand upon the
topics addressed through the workshops
and plenary sessions, MATEC invited the
following keynote speakers: Dr. Robert
Fullilove, Associate Dean of the Mailman
School of Public Health; Dr. Elena Rios,
President and CEO of the National
Hispanic Medical Association; and Dr. John
Bartlett, Professor of Medicine and Chief
of the Division of Infectious Diseases at
Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine.
Dr. Robert Fullilove shared a thoughtful
and passionate presentation on the impact
of the HIV/AIDS epidemic within the
African American community and the
increasing demand for more clinicians of
color. Dr. Fullilove stated, "If we continue to look at the HIV epidemic as being the end
result of a set of disease processes, we're
missing the boat..."He further stated that
the HIV epidemic is . . . a symptom of a much
larger set of societal issues and modalities."
Dr. Elena Rios shared relevant data and
findings regarding the impact of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic on the Latino community.
In 2005, approximately 14 percent of the
total United States population was Latino.
Yet, they represented about 18 percent of all
AIDS cases. According to Dr. Rios, a
systemic approach to treat the underlying
social issues, advocacy, cultural competence,
and research is critical. Furthermore, there is
a particular need for more Latino clinicians as
they only make up about 10 percent of the
total profession.
Dr. John Bartlett discussed emerging issues
in HIV/AIDS patient care, noting an urgency
to address the cost of caring for patients.
Dr. Bartlett stated, "This is what we have to
worry about...who has AIDS, who pays for
AIDS, and who's going to take care of
patients with AIDS in the United States?"
Dr. Bartlett further noted that HIV/AIDS
clinician salaries are "something that we've
never been comfortable talking about."He
added, "Has anyone ever come to this
meeting and said we've got to worry about
the economics, who's going to get paid, how
are we going to attract new people into this
field? This is a specialty of medicine unlike
no other."
Joining the symposium during the closing
reception were Dr. Eric Whitaker, Director of
the Illinois Department of Public Health;
Dr. Creasie Finney Hairston, Dean of the
University of Illinois Jane Addams College of
Social Work; and Congressman Danny K.
Davis of Illinois.
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