Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 7, 1993 TAG: 9303050010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT RIVENBARK SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
FOR CARE AND SUPPORT
If your life has been touched by AIDS, you can count on the New River Valley AIDS Coalition for a range of support services, says newly installed Chairwoman Peggy Eaton."We're not a judgmental organization," she added. "We're here to help you and your family."
The coalition and its parent, the AIDS Council of Western Virginia, are part of a network of AIDS support organizations organized under the Council of Community Services.
New River Valley residents also can expect expanded AIDS-related services, said Christiansburg lawyer Alice Burlinson, chairwoman of the Advisory Committee to the AIDS Council.
Her committee, formed in January, will coordinate the efforts of AIDS support organizations throughout Western Virginia to help them expand services through training, resource development and education.
Burlinson said AIDS education is vital because people may not be aware that the disease affects every segment of the population.
"For many years people were very comfortable thinking that if they weren't gay males or IV drug users, they had nothing to worry about," she said.
In fact, the fastest-growing group of clients that the AIDS Council serves are women and children.
In 1992 the council, headquartered in Roanoke and serving 29 counties in Western Virginia, helped 380 HIV- and AIDS-infected clients.
The AIDS Coalition, partly funded by the council and by the federally funded Ryan White Care Act, helps pay for medical supplies, doctors' visits, treatment and testing for its 15 clients.
"Our funding is limited at this point," Eaton said. "We get it quarterly and it goes very quickly. But we do what we can."
According to AIDS Coalition Client Services Director Daryl Epperly, many who have AIDS or are infected with the HIV virus don't have health insurance sufficient to pay for AIDS medication. But they can get it free through New River Valley public health departments by applying for Medicare and Medicaid.
"Even if their application is rejected, they are eligible for free medication," Epperly said. "We're on call 24 hours a day to help people through this application process, to help fill out all the paperwork, arrange for further testing if it's needed, set up an appointment with a doctor and go with the person for the first doctor visit. And everything we do is strictly confidential."
The AIDS Coalition also offers trained "buddies" who clean clients' houses, cook meals, supply transportation to the doctor and perform other services. Buddies undergo a background check and attend a seminar that teaches safety precautions needed in helping the HIV- or AIDS-infected.
Epperly urged those interested in becoming buddies to call (800) 354-3388 to sign up for the next training session, to be held the weekend of March 26-28.
Other AIDS Coalition services include Tara Jankowski's educational subcommittee programs at Virginia Tech and at the Pulaski Correctional Unit in Dublin. The subcommittee also has set up a permanent education display booth at the Blacksburg Public Library.
The coalition's professional education subcommittee, headed by Judy Williams of the Radford Health Department, trains nurses as first responders to newly infected HIV and AIDS patients; and it recently trained Montgomery County public school teachers in how to protect themselves and students from exposure to HIV and hepatitis B.
Information about the AIDS Coalition's treatment-related services also is available at (800) 354-3388.
The coalition sponsors two support groups. Friends for Life offers ongoing support and counseling for HIV- and AIDS-infected clients. It meets the first and third Mondays of each month (call 552-8187 or 951-3024 in Blacksburg, or 382-1621 in Christiansburg for information). Hope is Vital offers ongoing help to families and friends of the HIV- and AIDS-infected, and meets the second and fourth Mondays of each month. (Call 953-1241 in Blacksburg or 382-1621 in Christiansburg.)
The AIDS Coalition is making its library of HIV- and AIDS-related videotapes available to the public on a checkout basis. Eaton urged those interested in such videos to call her at 639-5881 in Radford for more information.