Handbook to Offer HIV Information
Ana Vargas, a client outreach coordinator of the Valley HIV/AIDS Center in Van Nuys, found in her conversations with private physicians in the San Fernando Valley that although most provided HIV testing, many didn’t know what to do with their patients who tested positive.
“They told them to seek another physician,” said Vargas, or to continue coming to them even though they had no experience in dealing with the disease.
To help inform doctors and let them know what HIV and AIDS services are available in the Valley, the center and the San Fernando Valley HIV Consortium have put together a handbook: “Quick Look: A Guide to HIV Services in the San Fernando Valley.”
Vargas said it will be published within the next three weeks. “It provides the names of the agencies, addresses, hours of operation and fees, if any,” she said.
“Quick Look” will be distributed for free to people infected with HIV and to the clients Vargas encounters at early intervention programs at local clinics.
The guide includes information on case managers, burial assistance, food programs, outpatient facilities, and hot lines including suicide prevention and Alcoholics Anonymous, she said.
A Spanish edition of the handbook will be published, she said, if $4,000 can be raised to print 10,000 copies.
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