HIV/AIDS is Not a Funny Thing

There is no cure for AIDS. AIDS is something that an infected person must live with for the rest of his or her life. The HIV/AIDS rate in Miami continues to rise at an alarming rate. Those already infected with AIDS struggle to find ways to pay for medications.
So what is Miami doing to help these struggling people?
The Aventura Hospital teaches about HIV/AIDS every other Monday. Jackson Memorial Hospital also has support groups, which take place every Tuesday. For those who do not speak English, they offer Creole-speaking support groups on Wednesdays and Spanish-speaking support groups on Thursdays.
“We teach them about safer sex, and disclosing,” said Edgar Resto, a Health Educator at Jackson Memorial Hospital. “We teach them how to maintain a quality life, and how to live better.”
Resto said the support groups are fun for the participants, because they play games and interact with them in different ways.
For those with full-blown AIDS, they can receive medical insurance to help pay for their medications through the Ryan White Fund Program, which was established in 1991 to help underprivileged citizens of the community get the help and medication that they need if they test positive for HIV/AIDS. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Qualification for funding through the Ryan White Program depends on one’s income level. For example, a single person cannot make more than $29,000 a year in order to qualify for the funding. A household of two cannot make more than $39,000 a year. These rules apply to the state of Florida only.
“It’s an expensive disease,” said Arlene Merrill, Director of Infection Control at Aventura Hospital. “Medications can range from $30,000 to $55,000 a year. Some cost up to $15,000 a month."

This year, Dell will air its first-ever Super Bowl commercial intended to help raise money for AIDS treatment programs in Africa. The commercial will feature a set of crimson-red special-edition personal computers and a printer for sell, which will help benefit (RED), a program to help fight AIDS among women and children in Africa. The program was co-founded by U2 lead singer Bono.

Back in 2004, the number of male HIV/AIDS cases reported in Miami was 1133. The number of female cases reported was 468, according to the Miami Dade County Health Department.
The number of Hispanics reported with HIV/AIDS back in 2005 was 413. The number of blacks reported that same year was 369. In 2006, the number of HIV/AIDS cases reported for MSM, men who have sex with men totaled 844. The total number of HIV/AIDS cases reported in Miami in 2006 was 1,202.

HIV/AIDS patients have a tendency to grow certain types of bacteria. Many of the medications can cause cancer, bone disease, and other serious problems.
HIV, which stands for the human immunodeficiency virus, is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV infects the CD4 cells in the human immune system. The more CD4 cells that HIV infects, the closer a person is to having full-blown AIDS. When the CD4 cell count in a person’s body has dropped down to 250, the person is considered to now have AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency System. Those who share needles, have anal/oral sex, get body piercing, tattoos, and share the same straws to snort cocaine, have a high risk of being infected with the HIV virus.
The Aventura Hospital sends all of those who test positive for HIV/AIDS to the Miami-Dade County Health Department.
Jackson Memorial Hospital is considered a first point of entry. It is where people come to get tested for HIV/AIDS, and from there, the hospital refers you to different clinics, psychiatrists, and other support systems.
The University of Miami Hospital offers support groups on Thursdays. Doctors from the UM Hospital go to the Jackson Memorial Hospital to help them provide services to patients.

HIV/AIDS in Miami

Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Abbott Bring "I Stand With Magic: Campaign to End Black AIDS" to Miami
The "I Stand With Magic" program has visited 17 cities since the campaign was launched. Miami will be the last city stop of the year prior to a World AIDS Day visit in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The program will urge students, patients and community leaders in Miami to mobilize their resources, get educated, get tested for HIV and seek treatment. Johnson is visiting Miami as part of the "I Stand With Magic" program, a part of the "Campaign to End Black AIDS" (www.istandwithmagic.com) announced December 1, 2006. The Campaign's emphasis is on African-American and other minority communities where new HIV infections are on the rise. Half of all new HIV infections in the United States are among African-Americans, who represent about 13 percent of the population. In 2005, 48 percent of Florida residents (48,917) living with HIV/AIDS were African American1.

HIV/AIDS in Miami
Miami had the third highest rate of AIDS cases for major cities (51,539) in the United States2 (2004). Miami has the second highest rate (11,174) of African Americans who are living with HIV/AIDS in the United States3 (2004 Ryan-White Care ACT eligible). Miami has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS cases in Florida (29,092 in 2005)4.

African Americans account for approximately half of the more than 1 million Americans estimated to be living with HIV, and have represented 40 percent of all deaths among people with AIDS in the United States. In 2005, the rate of AIDS diagnoses for African-Americans was approximately 10 times the rate of Caucasians and almost three times that of Hispanics. Additionally, AIDS disproportionately affects African-American women with a diagnosis rate almost 23 times that of Caucasian women in 2005.

My Thoughts- I attended the I Stand With Magic Campaign meeting when they visited Miami back in November. The program was very informal and interesting. I was able to interview a lot of people, and they all enjoyed the program. Different people spoke during the program, including a physician woman from Africa who has seen the effects of HIV/AIDS in Africa first-hand. There were also HIV-positive guest speakers who spoke during the program.

Every guest speaker's main focus was that you can still live a happy and active life even if you have HIV. Magic Johnson did not show up, but the program was great without him. We watched a documentary in which Magic Johnson went to different prisons to speak about HIV/AIDS. He informed the men in the prisons that they need to protect themselves, especially in such a high-risk place.

It's pretty shocking that Miami had the third highest rate of AIDS cases back in 2004 for major cities in the U.S. It's a bit scary to think about. There are so many people living around here in Miami who are infected, but don't even know it. You must always take precautions to protect yourself, because the rate of AIDS cases is continually rising.

What's even more shocking to me is that Miami had the second highest rate of African Americans who are living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. in 2004. WOW! This shocks me and hurts me to the core. We as African Americans need to take more steps to protect ourselves. There is no need for our race to be dying off so quickly from a disease that can be prevented. These statistics seem to be rising. And that's not good.

But not only is the African American community in Miami greatly affected by this disease, but the Hispanic community also suffers in great numbers from this disease. When the Magic Johnson campaign came to Miami, their focus was on minorities, African Americans and Hispanics, because their rate of HIV/AIDS cases is the highest. It is much higher that the AIDS rate of Caucasians. In the documentary that we watched about Johnson visiting the prison, we saw that most of the men he spoke to were either black or Hispanic. And we know that blacks and hispanics make up most of the population in jails and prisons. HIV is spreading to our blacks and Hispanics in prison, and it continues to spread quickly here in Miami. Very scary but true.

I think the best way to protect ourselves from this disease, and to slow the increasing numbers down is to continue to teach safe sex, abstinence, and ways to prevent the disease. We need to also inform everyone that you need to get tested, no matter what. GET TESTED!!