ACTION Lunch Forum: Hepatitis C, HIV, & African Americans

Join us December 14th at 1:00 PM for the monthly ACTION lunch presentation at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street, Suite 500, Washington DC. DC CARE is located at the corner of 15th and M Streets, and is closest to the McPherson Metro Stop.

This month Monica Lattimore-McLeod will help us better understand how the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) impacts African Americans. We will look at prevalence rates of Hepatitis C in the African American Community and learn more about why there are racial and ethnic disparities in treatment of HCV. We'll also look at unique issues for those who are HIV positive and also have HCV. Register for this event online by clicking here, or by calling 202 223-9550 ext 15.

DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Group Meeting Thursday November 9th

The DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Group will hold a full committee meeting on November 9th, 2006 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The meeting will be held at 64 New York Avenue, NE - 1st Floor Conference Room. Parking is available at this location after 5:30pm. To gain access throughthe security gate push 3# on the call box and mentioned that you are attending the CPG Meeting. It is also assessable by rail (red line NY Ave.Station) and by bus (90, 92, and 80 route).

Even if you are not a member of the DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Group, you are welcome to come to this meeting. The CPG is comprised of people living with HIV/AIDS, those at high risk for HIV, and representatives of affected populations from the community, as well as epidemiologists, behavioral and social scientists, HIV/AIDS service providers, health department staff, and other representatives of organizations that serve persons with, or at risk for, HIV infection. All members work as a team to analyze the course of the HIV epidemic in the District of Columbia, assess and prioritize HIV prevention needs, identify HIV prevention interventions to meet those needs, and develop a comprehensive HIV prevention plan the District of Columbia. All members are provided opportunities for orientation and skills building, and have meaningful involvement in the process and an equal voice in voting and other decision-making activities.

Silver Spring World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil

2006 marks the 26th year of AIDS, totalling well over 25 million deaths worldwide. The AIDS pandemic is an international security threat that has crippled economies and taught a global lesson on humanity and compassion. The Silver Spring World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil is the local observance of all who have died and those living with HIV. The vigil will be held at Veterans Field, Downtown Silver Spring. The vigil takes place from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on World AIDS Day, December 1st, 2006.

For information on other World AIDS Day observances in DC, click here

DC World AIDS Day Prayer Vigil

There will be an inter-denominational HIV/AIDS Prayer Service held on December 1st. The prayer service begins at 7:30 PM and takes place at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Old Catholic Church at Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E St SE. Join clergy from area denominations and pray for those who have been lost to AIDS, and for those who still suffer.

For more information on World AIDS Day events in DC, click here.

DC Protest Planned for World AIDS Day

AIDs activists plan to gather outside the Whitehouse for a rally on the afternoon of World AIDS Day (December 1st). Organizations that are planning this event include: ACT UP NY, ACT UP Philadelphia, American Medical Student Association,
Center for Health and Gender Equity, DC Fights Back!, Global AIDS Alliance, Global Justice, Health GAP, Housing Works, Priority Africa Network (PAN), RESULTS, Student Global AIDS Campaign, and Universities Coalitions for Global Health.

For more information about this event click here. For more information about other DC World AIDS Day events, click here.

C2EA-MetroDC Meeting on November 8th!

The next Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC (C2EA-MetroDC) meeting takes place Wednesday November 8th starting at 6:30 PM at Regional Addiction Prevention (RAP), Inc.

RAP is located at 1949 4th Street NE and is closest to the Rhode Island Metro Station. If you're coming from the metro: Turn left as you exit the station. Take the stairs (not ramp) down to Rhode Island Avenue. Turn left for two blocks. Turn left onto 4th Street. RAP is in the third block. Look for the purple awning.

We will continue to discuss what we want C2EA-MetroDC to be, building on the consensus statements from our last meeting:

We want to foster civic engagement in HIV/AIDS locally in DC,
particularly among people living with HIV/AIDS.

We want to be a network of concerned individuals and not a network
of organizations.

We would like to do some sort of 'launch event' possibly around
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

What can you do to help make our next meeting a success?

Come to the meeting, and bring a friend!

Let folks know about the new C2EA-MetroDC Yahoo Group, and invite people to join

Read the article in the Washington Blade about the recent DC
Council hearing on AHPP (click here), and be ready to discuss it.

Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

Reminder: RSVP for ACTION Lunch on November 9th

The ACTION free lunch forum entitled 'Understanding Metabolic Conditions in People with HIV' takes place next Thursday, November 9th. The presentation begins at 1:00 PM at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500.

Walter Weiss, Serono Inc. Medical Science Liaison, will be our speaker. Have questions about lypodystrophy? Cholesterol and triglycerides? Heart disease in people living with HIV? This is a great place to get answers to your questions or just learn more. If you are coming PLEASE RSVP by Friday!

Lunch Provided. RSVP Required. To RSVP, Click Here. You can also RSVP by calling David Mariner at DC CARE (202) 223-9550 ext 15.

This is going to be a good one. Hope to see you there!

DC Smoke-Free Workplace Legislation is Good News for HIV Positive Workers

Cigarette smoke kills people living with HIV/AIDS. Perhaps I could find a nicer way of saying it, but there simply is no avoiding the truth. This is the data that shocked me the most. The Women's Independent Health Study (WIHS), which included trial participants in the DC area, showed that over the course of several years, trial participants who smoked were 53% more likely to die compared to their non-smoking counterparts in the study. Over 50% more likely to die. Get it now? (here's the study)

Now we know that second hand smoke is a health hazard for all of us. Each year, approximately 3,000 Americans die from cancer caused by second hand smoke. Studies suggest that second hand smoke may also be a key factor in as many as 62,000 deaths from coronary heart disease annually.

Second hand smoke, though, is particularly dangerous for more vulnerable populations, including people living with HIV. While there is little research specific to second hand smoke and people living with HIV/AIDS, there is a significant body of research showing the impact smoking has on people living with HIV/AIDS when it comes to heart disease, cancer, and other common diseases and conditions people living with HIV/AIDS face. To find out more about this, Check out this fact sheet I wrote for the National Coalition for LGBT Health.

We live in a city where as many as 1 in 20 people are HIV positive, and many still don't know there status. Every worker in DC has a right to work in a safe environment. It should not matter if you work in a corner-office or if you work in a restaurant. Second-hand smoke hurts everyone, but it is particularly harmful to workers who are HIV positive.

I'm thrilled that the smoke-free workplace legislation passed. And I'm thrilled that our leading HIV/AIDS organization in DC, Whitman Walker Clinic, endorsed the legislation and played a role in it's passage.

As many of you know, the provision for banning smoking in bars, nightclubs, and bar areas within restaurants, will take effect on January 1, 2007. There are always challenges in implementing a new law, and I'm sure there will be some bumps along the way between now and then. It is important to remember why this legislation was passed, and to stay involved in this issue. It's also important to encourage other HIV/AIDS organizations to join Whitman Walker and be more vocal on the need for smoke-free workplaces for all workers.

To find out more about what's happening, I encourage you to visit www.smokefreedc.org, or www.breatheeasydc.org

Save the Date: NAHOF Conference in DC March 8-10

The National Association of HIV Over Fifty (NAHOF) Annual Conference, titled 'Aging & HIV/AIDS
in the 21st Century ' will take place in Washington DC from March 8th to March 10th at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill. The focus of the conference is HIV in the context of aging and chronic disease. In addition to keynotes, panels, Congressional lobbying and joint social and strategy events with DC area groups, several breakout tracks are planned, dealing generally with Community, Knowledge, Care, Prevention and Action. Each track will include presentations on theory, research and clinical practice along with hands-on workshops. For more information, contact jcampbell@hivoverfifty.org

Catania calls for firings at AIDS office

the following article appeared in the Washington Blade print edition this week but did not appear on their website. I thought it was worth posting here..

City AIDS administration officials came under sharp questioning at a D.C. Council hearing Monday following the release of a city audit that showed the agency failed to properly monitor millions of dollars in grants to vendors providing services to people with the disease.

Marsha Martin, head of the Administration for HIV Policy & Programs (AHPP), and Department of Health Director Gregg Pane fielded the inquiries. The audit found that 14 vendors providing AIDS-related services were operating illegally because they did not have the required license to conduct business in the District of Columbia. Others were not certified to provide Medicaid-related services to clients that the city paid them to assist, the audit found. The report did not identify the problem vendors described in the audit.

The D.C. Office of the Inspector General, which conducted the audit, is investigating one of the vendors for possible criminal prosecution after determining it was not performing any of the work the city was paying it to do, an official with the office said.

According to the audit, grant managers at AHPP failed to conduct required onsite visits and did not keep sufficient records to adequately assess whether the vendors were doing the work specified in the grants and contracts the city had awarded them.

D.C. Councilmember David Catania (I-At-Large), who called the hearings in his role as the chair of the council’s Committee on Health, expressed outrage that the newly released audit uncovered some of the same internal management problems at AHPP that a similar audit discovered a little more than a year ago.

FINDINGS UNACCEPTABLE

While pointing to significant improvements at AHPP since September 2005, when Martin took office, Catania called the latest audit findings “unacceptable.” He called on Martin and Pane to fire grant monitors and other employees found to be negligent in performing their duties.

“I want to hear they’re no longer with this government because we cannot continue to pour old wine in a new bottle,” Catania said.

Catania released additional information he obtained from the city’s chief financial officer showing that AHPP failed to spend about $5.6 million in federal funds for AIDS programs in 2006.

Details about lingering problems as well as improvements at AHPP under Martin’s first year in office surfaced in a 31-page report released last week by the Office of the D.C. Inspector General, which outlines the findings of the audit.


William DiVello, a spokesperson for the Office of the Inspector General, said the office has a policy of not releasing the names of organizations or individuals that are subjects of audits. He said his office is investigating the vendor found not to be performing its work to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against it.

But in response to Catania’s questions, Inspector General officials identified the vendor under investigation for allegedly not performing its duties as Our Children, Inc., a community-based organization located on Good Hope Road in Southeast Washington.

Bridget Johnson, a spokesperson for the group, told the Blade in an Oct. 25th interview that officials with the group believe investigators with the Inspector General’s office “went to the wrong address” when they sought to verify Our Children’s work related to its AHPP grant.

“Their information was wrong,” Johnson said. “We have done the work.” Johnson declined to provide further details, saying the group’s executive director would issue a statement later.

Martin and Pane acknowledged the problems outlined in the Inspector General’s report and audit and promised to take immediate steps to correct them. Pane said he was especially troubled over the AHPP’s inability to disburse and spend federal funds in a timely manner.

“I take full responsibility,” he said. “I know it is not acceptable to her and it’s not acceptable to me,” Pane said, referring to his and Martin’s effort to improve procedures for grant management and the expenditure of funds.

Pane hired Martin as head of AHPP in September 2005 shortly after he fired her predecessor, Lydia Watts, for failing to improve the trouble-plagued AIDS office.

Watt’s firing came 11 months after Mayor Anthony Williams appointed her to head what was then called the HIV/AIDS Administration, or HAA. Williams named Pane as head of the Department of Health around the same time he appointed Watts.

Many of the longstanding problems associated with HAA during Watt’s tenure and the tenure of her predecessors were uncovered during a series of oversight hearings Catania conducted in 2004 and 2005. Martin, a former health official in the Clinton administration and the former executive director of AIDS Action, a national AIDS advocacy group, has been praised by gay and AIDS activists as an experienced and committed champion for people with HIV/AIDS.

To continue reading this article, pick up a copy of this week’s Washington Blade

National Asian and Pacific Islander (API) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Saturday, May 19, 2007 is the third annual National Asian and Pacific Islander (API) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This observance day intends to raise awareness among Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. about the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , today there are an estimated 1.039 million to 1.185 million HIV-positive individuals living in the U.S. AIDS has killed more than 20 million people since the first cases were diagnosed in 1981. For APIs, one of the fastest-growing ethnic/racial populations in the U.S., HIV/AIDS is on the rise. According to the CDC, the number of APIs living with AIDS has climbed by more than 10 percent in each of the last 5 years. The number of adult and adolescent APIs diagnosed with AIDS through 2004 was 7,317.

For more information, check out the Banyon Tree Project Website

City Year DC: HIV/AIDS Outreach, Prevention, & Education (HOPE) Team

The mission of the City Year HIV/AIDS Outreach, Prevention, & Education (HOPE) Team is to address and prevent the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the DC community by educating young people about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and how the infection is spread. In partnership with Metro Teen AIDS, City Year corps members deliver an 9-week curriculum entitled Making Proud Choices. This CDC-approved curriculum is specifically designed to increase the knowledge of young people about HIV/AIDS, to prevent infection, and to develop positive attitudes about safe sex. Participants build confidence in their ability to negotiate no sex and safe sex through eight modules of interactive educational activities that include role-playing, brainstorming, small group discussion, and video presentations.

Targeting 7th-12th grade students in DC public and charter schools, the HOPE Team delivers the Making Proud Choices curriculum to more than 12 middle, junior high, and high schools over the course of the school year. Each year, the HOPE Team reaches at least 1,500 DC young people with the Making Proud Choices curriculum.

Building on the momentum created by the curriculum, the HOPE Team supports, educates and empowers students to launch after-school clubs focused on promoting healthy choices called “Visionary Youth Becoming Empowered” (VYBE). Working with school faculty, the HOPE Team helps interested students learn about healthy choices and engage their peers in making healthy decisions. VYBE clubs are currently active at Eastern High School and Bell Multicultural High School.

DC ACTION November Newsletter Now Online

Just a quick note to let you know the ACTION Novembe Newsletter is now online and is chock-full of useful information. See the November Newsletter as a PDF file right here.

Art for Life

Art for Life is a reception and live/silent auction that raises money to help Whitman-Walker Clinic serve Latinos living in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. This annual art auction is made possible by local, national and international artists who donate their works to the auction and our sponsors and individual donors. This year the event will be held Friday November 17th at the Organization of American States (17th St. and Constitution Ave., NW) starting at 6:00 PM. View our 2006 auction catalogue here. Online ticket purchase available here.

Routine HIV Testing at Howard University Hospital

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Howard University Hospital Monday became the first in the nation to offer routine HIV testing for all patients, employees and students.

The Washington hospital will begin posting HIV screening liaisons in each department to administer free, voluntary HIV tests. The staff will use Food and Drug Administration-approved OraQuick Advance, a saliva-based test that determines a person`s HIV status within 20 minutes.

All patients will be offered the free test, but they will have the choice to verbally opt out, said Dr. Celia Maxwell, director of the hospital`s Center for Infectious Disease Management and Research. Maxwell added she doesn`t expect many people to opt out, as most want to know the status of their health.

'It`s my hope this becomes like a cholesterol test -- just a standard routine (given) by your doctor,' Maxwell told United Press International at a launch kick-off at the hospital. HIV/AIDS 'should be destigmatized, because this is a disease like any other.'

The district has the highest rate of AIDS in the country: New AIDS cases hit 179.2 per 100,000 residents in 2004, vs. 15.0 cases per 100,000 nationwide -- surpassing rates of some sub-Saharan countries. There are approximately 40,000 to 45,000 new cases of HIV diagnosed nationwide each year, mostly under the ages of 25.

The screening program comes in response to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, issued in June, that HIV testing be included as part of regular health screening for Americans. Although the CDC suggested testing Americans 13 to 64, the D.C. government has advocated increasing the age of screening to 84.

Maxwell and colleagues modeled the screening program after ACTS, a rapid, simplified screening prototype developed by the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. ACTS -- which stands for assess, consent, test and support -- takes no more than five minutes, and can be quickly diffused into healthcare settings. Randomized trials currently under way in South Africa, which has also adopted the program, and the Bronx show ACTS has doubled HIV testing rates.

Previous research has shown patients who are HIV-positive and know their status reduce high-risk sex by 50 percent, Maxwell said. Likewise, people who get screened and test negative may start thinking about it, and engage in behaviors to keep them healthy, Maxwell speculates.

'Either way, it`s a win-win,' she said.

She also anticipates that screening and identifying people with HIV early, before their syndrome progresses into full-blown AIDS, will be a great cost advantage to hospitals and healthcare centers. Those D.C. residents who test positive will be referred to the hospital`s infectious-disease center for secondary testing and follow-up care -- including those without health insurance.

The city government has also spearheaded a campaign to get all residents between the ages of 14 to 84 screened for the virus by Dec. 31, 2006.

'This is absolutely a historic moment,' said Leo Rennie, bureau chief for HIV prevention at the city`s Administration for HIV Policy and Programs. 'This is new and innovative -- we`re ahead of the CDC guidelines.'

The AHPP, led by Marsha Martin, has taken a more vigorous approach to combating HIV/AIDS following a period of relative stagnancy.

Jeanne White Ginder, mother to the late Ryan White, the outspoken teen who died of AIDS in 1990, also spoke about her son`s struggle with discrimination -- still a major barrier to bringing HIV/AIDS out of the shadows and into the public dialogue. The resulting Ryan White Care Act of 1990 remains one of the largest federally funded programs to treat people living with HIV/AIDS.

"People with AIDS need to go on with their daily lives," said White Ginder, who has followed in her son`s footsteps as an AIDS activist. 'As Ryan used to tell me, "Let`s make it a disease, not a dirty word."

The Start of Something Good

Last week a small group of folks got together over at my place to discuss the possibility of a new vision for the Campaign to End AIDS in DC. We talked a about a lot of stuff including school HIV/AIDS programs, HIV/AIDS programs for Women and Children in the District, Stigma, HIV/Meds (and the people who advertise for them), and much more. The common theme however, seemed to be a desire to see a renewed since of civic engagement in the local struggle here in DC. There was a strong desire to see all the diverse communities living with HIV and affected by HIV in this city 100% engaged in all levels of the local fight: in the Community Planning Group, and the DC Public Schools, and the Planning Council, and City Hall, and the voting booth, and much more. I will be posting more about this later in the week, but I'm excited to see we're off to a good start. If you'd like to stay updated on Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC, Please join this yahoo group

Recent DC HIV/AIDS News Clips

Here are some recent news clips from DC: Howard University's Hilltop reports on a Planned Parenthood Media Lunch on HIV/AIDS. The Washington Times reports on their own Citizen's Forum on HIV/AIDS. Channel 9 reports on Magic Johnson's Recent DC Trip. The GW Hatchet discusses HIV Screening at GW Hospital. And last but not least, Housing Works has an article on the recent President's Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS Meeting recently held in DC.

Brave Souls Unplugged

On Monday November 20th 2006, Brave Soul Collective will present it's first production, Brave Souls Unplugged: A Collage in Truth. The evening will consist of a combination of theatre, poetry, and music peformances. Featuring performances by BSC founders Monte J Wolfe & Tim'm T West, along with a host of fellow multi-talented artists. All proceeds from this event will go toward Brave Soul Collective acquiring its 501c 3 (non profit status) before this years end.

Date: Monday November 20th, 2006
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Warehouse Theater, 1021 7th Street NW
Metros: Mt. Vernon Sq/Convention Ctr. or Gallery Pl. METRO Stations

For more information:

Phone: 202 744 8823
Email: monte@bravesoulcollective.org or tim.m@bravesoulcollective.org
Cost: $20 in advance, $25 at the door

Tickets will go on sale for this event Monday October 23rd, 2006. For more information, click here.

Dinner Presentation: bevirimat (PA-457) Phase II Study in DC

Come join us at Ristorante I Ricchi to learn about a new clinical study currently enrolling patients in Washington DC. Panacos Pharmaceuticals will present information about bevirimat (PA-457). They are currently enrolling patients for a Phase II Study of this 'maturation inhibitor'. PA-457 is the first in a new class of antiretrovirals that block HIV-1 replication by disrupting virus maturation. For a more detailed explanation check out this overview on the NATAP website.

I think PA-457 is interesting for a few reasons. One, it potentially could be used by folks who are multi-drug resistant and don't have a lot of treatment options, but it could potentially also be used by folks who are just starting treatment. It also appears to not be antagonistic to other HIV meds, so it potentially could be combined with (or added to) current treatment plans.

The Dinner presentation will be held at Ristorante I Ricchi (1220 19th Street, NW) from 6:00 to 8:00 PM . If you're riding, it's one block from the DuPont Metro South Exit. If you're driving compliementary valet parking is available. You must RSVP for this event. Click Here to Download the Registration Form.

Metro Teen AIDS: Wine Uncorked

Metro Teen AIDS will be holding their annual wine-tasting event at Woolly Mammoth Theater's beautiful new downtown space (641 D Street, NW). The festivities take place from 6 to 8 PM on Tuesday, October 24, 2006.

Join Master Sommelier Pam Seaton of Vino Volo, as she presents (and you taste) some fabulous wines. Tickets can be purchased online at www.metroteenaids.org/wine. Tickets are $50 and benefit Metro Teen AIDS.

FYI, Parking is available across the street from the theater for $10 if you mention Woolly Mammoth, otherwise price is $15. And the closest metro stops are: Archives/Navy Memorial and Gallery Place.