‘Taking Initiative on AIDS’
I agree with your editorial (April 14, “Taking the Initiative on AIDS,”) on the need for hospice care and more public education in the fight against AIDS. Los Angeles County is taking the initiative in these two areas.
In January, well before public attention was focused on the hospice issue, the Board of Supervisors adopted its legislative agenda, which included support for state licensing and reimbursement of hospice care. The board has long supported this concept, because it is humane and saves taxpayer dollars. However, until the state Legislature acts, our hands are tied.
Furthermore, the board recently adopted my motion to urge the Federal Drug Administration to streamline its approval procedure for drugs that may save the lives or ease the suffering of the victims of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, leukemia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
We have also taken the initiative on education and funding. The county publishes 22 AIDS pamphlets, several of which are specifically targeted to minority communities. County spending on AIDS increased 118% this year, and will increase again next year, despite a severe fiscal squeeze. We are facing a $170-million budget deficit, $106 million of which is in the Department of Health Services.
The Times inclusion of San Francisco is not germane to Los Angeles. San Francisco is the only county in California that is both county and city. This allows additional funding resources that the other 57 counties do not have. Los Angeles County’s budget is 75-80% controlled by state and federal mandates. The remaining funds are allocated, for example to the sheriff, fire protection, the justice system and the homeless.
The responsibility for the continuing spread of AIDS rests with those, whether heterosexual or homosexual, who use intravenous drugs or engage in promiscuous sexual activity. The only certain way to stop AIDS is to say no to drugs and stay within a monogamous relationship. Those who are already infected with the virus must abstain if the deadly chain is to be broken.
MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH
Chairman of the Board
Supervisor, Fifth District