PANORAMA CITY : AIDS Patients to Get Help With Child Care

For parents with AIDS or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, arranging child care can be an overwhelming prospect, especially for those who make frequent trips far from home for medical treatments.

“In large families with five or six small children, where the mothers have to take the bus for a medical appointment, they tend to say, ‘Forget it,’ ” said Linda Rodriguez, director of HIV/AIDS programs at the Northeast Valley Health Corp. in Panorama City. “They either bring their children or don’t go at all.”

Thanks to a $20,000 grant from the United Way, things are about to get a little easier. Through the San Fernando Valley HIV Consortium, a conglomeration of 13 agencies that treats people with HIV or AIDS, the Northeast Valley Health Corp. will coordinate free child care for parents while they receive medical treatment.

About 300 of the more than 3,500 people diagnosed with HIV in the Valley are women, and many of them have small children, Rodriguez said. In addition, some of the men are single parents.

Beginning in August, the corporation will act as a liaison, connecting patients with a child-care agency that will provide a baby-sitter during medical appointments.