Clarification
The cover of POSITIVELY AWARE’s special summer issue on aging and HIV (Our Golden Years) was photographed at the Town Hall Apartments, one of the first LGBT-friendly senior living residences in the country. The facility is co-owned by Heartland Alliance and Center on Halsted. Heartland Alliance provides property management services; Center on Halsted offers programs and on-site case management for residents.
Our Golden Issue
OMG! This is an amazing issue!!!! What a lineup!!!
Mathew Rodriguez
Hooray! What a fantastic lineup of voices! Many congratulations!
Rod McCullom
The care continuum
I speak in schools from the elementary to the university level. Any chance I get, I will talk about the care continuum (Editor’s Note, May+June 2016). I usually start by saying that the concept of the care continuum has been at the forefront of our knowing where we have gaps in treatment, thus leading to gaps in care and the overall state of this disease here in the U.S. The biggest eye pop, if you will, usually comes when they start to see the gaps (according to the CDC) from 82% diagnosed to 66% linked to care, then only 37% retained in care followed by the biggest gap, only 30% have reached that sought-after level of being virally suppressed. I talk about what that low level means not only for the overall health and well-being of the person but also that with that level of undetectable, this person is less infectious. You mentioned another study where some of the numbers were similar, with 55% having reached viral suppression. That’s better, but still not good enough, in my opinion.
Jeff, like you, I come from a place of privilege. I receive the best of care and I have an enormous amount of support. I reached that level of viral suppression many years ago. I know for a fact we can do better. We have the knowledge and the tools so that everyone that is HIV-positive can be linked to care and be prescribed ARVs and reach undetectable, but do we have the will to do better? My dream is to live long enough to see the end of this disease.
Bob Skinner
President/CEO, Valley AIDS Information Network
Corvallis, OR
Medicines
I received your medicine issue (20th Annual HIV Drug Guide, March+April 2016) and found it very informational. As a newly diagnosed HIV-positive person, I did not know anything about it or the medicines, even the one I was taking. Finding out I had it while being incarcerated left me with very few options to get information, and I am very happy that there are magazines like yours to help people. It makes me feel that I have some support, and information is always a great form of support. I am still trying to get used to this. I do still sometimes struggle, but I refuse to let it diminish me. It has put my life in perspective. I have been diagnosed for only 10 months, but I am now considered undetectable. I do worry about having to worry about meds when I get out, but the medical staff here tells me they will help get me set up when I get released. Thank you for your magazine.
Lawrence Allen
Posey, Camp Hill, PA
This is one issue that I always read and take with me. I can always find something in this magazine that keeps me informed on the latest in HIV treatment and the best HIV/HCV drug guides available every year.
Scott Davis