BURBANK : Medical Center Opens New HIV Unit
The Thompson Memorial Medical Center in Burbank officially opened its new HIV unit Tuesday.
The Immune Wellness Unit, which will provide both short- and long-term care for patients who have tested positive for HIV, is staffed with doctors and nurses specializing in infectious diseases, hematology and oncology.
Looking at the concept of having an HIV unit in its hospital, the board of directors at Thompson Memorial put together a task force of physicians to determine which services were needed the most in the Burbank area.
The task force recommended that the hospital focus on AIDS prevention and, for that reason, the hospital decided the unit would accept patients who were only infected with the HIV virus.
“We will treat them in an out-patient setting,” says hospital spokeswoman Cathy David.
With four units equipped with beds, sleep couches and refrigerators, the Immune Wellness Unit focuses on a sense of family and community.
Its full-time staff includes licensed clinical social workers, a respiratory care practitioner, an epidemiologist, a pharmacist and a dietitian.
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