AIDS Nursing Program Gets Reprieve
The county Board of Supervisors has approved $100,000 to pay at-home nursing costs for terminally ill AIDS patients, temporarily saving a program that county officials had warned would run out of funds today.
Supervisor Ed Edelman, who sought the funds, said the care provided by Visiting Nurse Home Services Inc. costs about $252 per patient for 24 hours, compared to $777 to $1,746 for 24 hours of care in a county hospital.
“There are no comparable . . . programs available for these patients in the community,” Edelman told the board Tuesday.
The nonprofit program, which is caring for about 40 terminally ill AIDS patients, exceeded its budget by about $200,000 this month and was unable to raise enough funds to continue, according to county officials. The program provides nurse’s aides and housekeepers for victims of acquired immune deficiency syndrome who are not sick enough to be in the hospital, but are bedridden much of the time.
The board’s action will fund the program until July 31 while county officials seek permanent funding, Edelman said.
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