Expanding Services to Persons with HIV and AIDS

During the 1990s, Jefferson has focused on increasing services to persons with HIV and AIDS.

Expanding Treatment Options

Jefferson's ability to see and treat persons with HIV and AIDS has been greatly expanded by a strong collaboration with Pennsylvania Hospital and four additions to our medical staff, R. Michael Buckley, MD, clinical professor of medicine and associate director, infectious diseases, Michael N. Braffman, MD, and John J. Stern, MD, both clinical assistant professors of medicine, and Jeffrey S. Rapp, MD, instructor, medicine.

New treatment options for patients include three recently approved drugs. In addition, Jefferson was the first hospital to work with new protease inhibitors for AIDS treatment in an effort led by Hedy Teppler, MD, assistant professor, medicine.

Conducting New Research

Jefferson researchers are conducting basic science research into new treatment approaches, including the use of a gene therapy technique to treat HIV and AIDS in work led by Roger J. Pomerantz, MD, chief, medicine's infectious diseases, and director, Center for Human Retrovirology.

And Jefferson Medical College's Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care was recently awarded a $1.23 million grant continuation from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study the clinical outcomes of children born to HIV-infected women. The center's senior research associate and health services division chief, Barbara J. Turner, MD, MSEd, will study prenatal care and birth outcomes for approximately 1,500 New York State, Medicaid-enrolled, HIV-infected women who will deliver through August 1996.

Reaching Out with Community Services

Jefferson reaches out to persons with AIDS in the community in a variety of ways. Some examples:

• With 40 percent of Jefferson's AIDS patients on Medicaid, Jefferson underwrote a significant dollar amount of care to indigent patients with HIV and AIDS during fiscal year 1995.
• The HIV program office, based in the department of social work and led by Joan Tannebaum, HIV coordinator, acts as a clearing house for information for staff, patients and community.
• Each year Jefferson employees substantially participate in the Philadelphia AIDS Walk. In 1995, Jefferson's was by far the most successful of 889 teams, raising more than $26,000. By comparison, the top team in 1994 raised $15,000 and CIGNA, the top corporate team in 1995, tallied $17,000. A total of 33 employee and department teams represented Jefferson in the 1995 walk.
• Jefferson developed a brochure on HIV that's available to the public entitled "HIV Infection and AIDS . . .You're Not Alone."
• Jefferson's department of media relations promotes HIV and AIDS clinical trials through public service announcements.