County to Start AIDS Office to Coordinate Services
San Diego County has received a $1-million federal grant to establish an office on AIDS to coordinate services for the disease’s victims, the county Department of Health Services announced Wednesday.
Under the three-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, the new office will work with UC San Diego Medical Center, the county Department of Social Services and all of the community-based agencies serving people with AIDS and AIDS-related complex (ARC).
Dr. J. William Cox, director of the county health department, said the office will address several areas in particular:
- The inadequacy of services for the indigent, of medical and dental services, and of treatment centers.
- The inadequacy of direct social and personal services for patients, and the lack of psychological support for patients and their families.
- The absence of a comprehensive, countywide case-management system, and of a system for identifying and tracking patients’ needs and programs’ cost-effectiveness.
The concept of an office of AIDS coordination was approved earlier this year by county supervisors. The grant will go into effect after formal approval of the program by the supervisors, expected next month, the health department said.
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