Posts
Health officials from the Louisiana
State University (LSU) Mid City Clinic will hold a health fair Friday, November
30, one day prior to World AIDS Day on December 1, in hopes that this awareness
event will help people know their status by getting tested.
AIDS is a huge problem in the Baton
Rouge area, as the city’s metro area ranked first in the nation in 2010 in the
rate of AIDS cases per 100,000 of population. There were 1,300 new HIV cases
and 795 new AIDS cases diagnosed in Louisiana in 2011, according to the state’s
Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) data. According to the same DHH data,
there were 319 new HIV cases (or 25 percent) and 227 new AIDS cases (or 29
percent), diagnosed in Louisiana that were from the Baton Rouge metro area. On
the whole, there are 4,888 people currently living with HIV/AIDS in metro Baton
Rouge, DHH says.
The November 30 health fair—which
runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.—features more than 30 health-care providers,
community and government agencies, and local businesses. The fair will provide
free HIV testing as well as free syphilis, glucose level, blood pressure, and
cholesterol testing. The event will include a raffle for a 40-inch
high-definition television set, as well as gift card raffles. The theme for the
health fair is “Zero Takes a Community,” which signifies zero discrimination
for people with HIV/AIDS, zero new HIV infections, and zero AIDS-related
deaths.
Fair officials will dedicate a live
oak tree near the clinic in recognition of World AIDS Day, during a ceremony at
10 a.m. on November 30. Dr. Tatiana Saavedra, one of five LSU Mid City Clinic
physicians who work at LSU’s Early Intervention Clinic, explains that the oak
tree is symbolic, and declared “The tree, which is beautiful, is strong and
firm and represents LSU’s years-long fight to prevent HIV/AIDS.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
