HIV MHTF postmodern narrative from Susan Forrest on Vimeo.

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : New Study Says HIV Vaccines Might Not Need to Produce Protective Blood Antibodies

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : HIV-Positive Men Who Bareback Should Have More Frequent Hep C Testing

Here is the meeting agenda for February's meeting tomorrow! Click here to view.

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Low Vitamin D Levels Tied to Heart Disease Risk in People With HIV

Click here to view the minutes from Januarys meeting! Sorry for the delay!

February 2011 LAHIVMHTF meeting

During our February meeting, Lucy Rimalower (MFT) will be doing a presentation on Narrative and Post Modern Therapy Ideas in a Community Mental Health Setting. Presentation will go from 10:30 am- 11:10 am. There will be a short Q&A following the presentation. Regular monthly Task Force meeting will start at 9:30 am.

LAHIVMHTF is now on twitter!!

Click here to follow LAHIVMHTF

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Discovery About HIV Could Lead to New Prevention and Treatment Approaches

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Study Says Race, Gender and Geography Predict Poorer Health With HIV

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Undetectable Viral Load Key to Long-Term Health in Late HIV Treatment Starters

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Undetectable Viral Load Key to Long-Term Health in Late HIV Treatment Starters

January Task Force Meeting Agenda

Happy New Year everyone! Click here to view the agenda for Januarys task force meeting agenda.

Winter Issue of Mental Health AIDS

click here to view the winter issue!

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : HIV Infection Shouldn’t Rule Out Kidney Transplantation

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : HIV Infection Shouldn’t Rule Out Kidney Transplantation

Check out why HIV positive individuals should still be available to obtain kidney transplants and why some doctors are against it.

Here are the September minutes finally! Click here to view document.

Here are the minutes from Octobers meetings! Click here to view document.

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Many People With HIV Don’t Enter or Stay in Care After Diagnosis

Take a look at this article of why people may not enter or stay in care after being diagnosed with HIV.

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Many People With HIV Don’t Enter or Stay in Care After Diagnosis

Brain Disorders: Impact of HIV on the Brain

Aidsmeds.com has a great article on a recent study regarding neurological disorders and HIV - in essence the study suggests that starting ARV treatment before CD4 counts are very low may have some protective properties.

Click here to read the article in full.

October Agenda

...and here's October's Agenda. Click here to download!

September Agenda

So sorry folks, we're still working through our tech chaos here -- hopefully this will lessen in the coming months as we welcome our new LAHIVMHTF intern, Megan.

Attached is September's Agenda! Click here to download.

In the Loop Action Alert!

ACTION ALERT: Tell the Governor to Restore State HIV/AIDS Funding October 6, 2010 We need you to send a message to Governor Schwarzenegger -- ask him to sign a budget that restores funding to essential HIV/AIDS programs! This week the California state legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger reached a budget deal that includes a restoration of $52 million in funding to HIV/AIDS prevention, education and care that were cut in last year's budget. The Governor is expected to sign the budget by the end of the week and we must make sure this funding remains in place. The conference committee budget now on the Governor's includes: HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education, and Care Programs -- $52 million to restore state support to those programs that were vetoed by the Governor in 2009. AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) -- $10 million the AIDS Drug Rebate Fund reserve while retaining existing eligibility restrictions. What You Can Do: Call the governor right now: 916.445.2841 Tell him to sign the conference committee budget that restores funding to important HIV/AIDS programs and provides all-important HIV/AIDS education and prevention funding for those at greatest risk of infection, including men who have sex with men and communities of color. Take Action NOW!

LAHIVMHTF presents Dr. Ardis Moe, September 8th

August meeting and agenda

Our August meeting is the 11th this month. Join us as we catch up on the latest news from this year's Global Forum, and the recent decision to repeal Prop 8.
Download the full agenda here.

July Minutes

If you missed July's meeting, download the minutes here.

CDU PAETC's July "Last Tuesday" Continuing Education Series: "Engagement in HIV Care: What You Can Do to Keep Patients Coming Back"

Click the link at the bottom to register.

“Last Tuesday” Training Series at Charles Drew University

Engagement in HIV Care: What You Can Do to Keep Patients Coming Back

Tuesday, July 27th

Registration: 8:45-9:00am
Program: 9:00-10:30am

1.5 Continuing Education Hours available for RNs, LCSWs, and MFTs

Location: Room 281, Cobb Building, Charles Drew University Campus

Click below for map and parking information:

www.tinyurl.com/CharlesDrew

Click below to register:

http://aetcnec.ucsf.edu/nec?page=act-paetcSurvey&param=1541&survey-id=1541&param=1

Please direct any questions to Elissa Bradley at Charles Drew University Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center

To find out the most up to date information on the CDU PAETC, click here for our FaceBook page and click the “Like” button.

***
Elissa Bradley, MPH
Program Coordinator, Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center (PAETC)
Charles Drew University
1748 E 118th Street Bldg M
Los Angeles, CA 90059
Elissa@HIVtrainingCDU.org (best) or elissabradley@cdrewu.edu
p 323.357.3402 / f 323.357.9333
www.PAETC.org

Elissa@HIVtrainingCDU.org is my new CDU PAETC email. However, if you send email to my old address that is fine as I receive and respond to both. Thank you.

July Agenda

Download here.

June Minutes

Download here.

June Agenda

Download here.

May Minutes

Download here.

May Agenda

Download here.

April Minutes

Download here.

April Agenda

Download here.

March Minutes

Download here.

March Agenda

Download here.

A bit behind...

LAHIVMHTF's editor has been out of the office, so please pardon all the dust that gathered here over the last few months.

Our editor is back in the office and will catch up over this next week or so with all the latest agendas and meeting minutes.

February Agenda

Please click here for the February Agenda. Hope to see you tomorrow!

January Task Force Minutes...

We had a bit of a snafu with the January minutes, so they'll be up shortly!

January Meeting Agenda

Click here to download January's agenda. Hope to see you Wednesday, January 14th.

November meeting minutes

Click here for November's minutes.

November's Agenda

Click here for the November agenda!

October minutes

Click here for October's minutes!

9/9/09 Minutes

Looking for the minutes to September's LAHIVMHTF meeting? Click here!

Next meeting 9/9/09!

Please join us for our September meeting at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza from 9:30A-11:30AM.

Vicki Freda, manager of the HOPWA Central Coordinating Agency at Aid for Aids, will present on various short term assistance and move-in grants available to our clients with HIV.


To download the agenda - please click here.

See you there!

Tell HHS to End the HIV Travel and Immigration Ban

The Government is extremely close to getting rid of the HIV Travel and Immigration Ban, which prohibits individuals who are living with HIV or AIDS from immigrating to the United States, and refuses entry for travelers who are living with HIV, unless they secure a waiver. The CDC has decided to remove HIV from the list of travel restrictions. The rule is open for public comment until Monday, August 17th.

Make your voice heard today! Get in contact with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and tell them to end the ban. You can do this by following three easy steps:

1. Draft a set of comments such as those below.

2. Send an e-mail with your comments to Part34HIVcomments@cdc.gov. Please include the Docket ID, Docket Title, and RIN number, with any text that you choose.

3. For more information, please visit CDC's website at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/laws_regs/fed_reg/remove-hiv/index_hiv.htm

Sample Message:

Docket ID: CDC-2008-0001
Docket Title: Medical Examination of Aliens - Removal of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection from Definition of Communicable Disease of Public Health Significance

RIN: 0920-AA26

I am writing to communicate my support for the proposed rule that would that would lift the immigration ban on visitors and immigrants living with HIV/AIDS, stop unfair mandatory HIV testing of immigrants, and remove references to HIV from the scope of examinations in its regulations.

This change will restore the U.S. as a leader in the areas of human rights, equal treatment under law, and public health. The change is needed because:

- There is no scientific or public health justification for HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay, and residence.
- Restrictions on entry, stay, and residence based on HIV status are discriminatory.
- The enforcement of HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay, and residence can, and does, violate other human rights.
- HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay, and residence can impede effective responses to HIV.

For these reasons, I support lifting the HIV Travel and Immigration Ban.

Sincerely,

APLA To Challenge California Govenor Over Unconstitutional Line-Item Vetoes

AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today announced that it intends file suit against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, on the ground that his line-item vetoes of the state Legislature’s July budget revision bill are unconstitutional. The governor "blue penciled" state funding for a range of safety-net programs, including more than $80 million from California’s HIV/AIDS portfolio. Leading international law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP will represent APLA on a pro bono basis.

"The governor has placed at risk the lives of many thousands of Californians who depend on these vital HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs," said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. "In doing so, he has overstepped his constitutional authority and left no other option."

APLA’s programs – including those that provide in-home care to seriously ill, HIV-positive L.A. County residents and those that offer HIV prevention education to Angelenos at highest risk of HIV infection – stand to lose a total of more than $1.8 million as a result of Schwarzenegger’s cuts. The agency is the hardest hit statewide.

In late July, Schwarzenegger "blue lined" state general fund support for all HIV/AIDS programs except HIV epidemiology and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), leaving the state’s Office of AIDS with only 20 percent of its funding for programs like HIV education and prevention, HIV counseling and testing, home health and early intervention. These were among more than $485 million in cuts made to the state’s health and human services portfolio.

"In exceeding his power, the governor has singlehandedly dismantled a critical array of programs that protect the health of all Californians -- programs that ultimately save the state from far more catastrophic spending," Thompson said. "The effects will be nothing short of devastating."

In a written opinion commissioned by state legislative leaders, the California Legislative Counsel Bureau agreed with advocates, finding that the cuts "did not constitute a valid exercise of [Schwarzenegger’s] line-item veto authority granted by… the California Constitution."

Advocates and the Counsel argue that the governor only has "blue pencil" authority over original budget appropriations. Schwarzenegger, however, made the latest cuts to Assembly Bill 1, which only "reduced the amount of an existing appropriation previously authorized" by the Legislature in February, the Counsel contends. The governor is "not granted new expenditure authority, nor is a state officer’s expenditure authority extended in any way by an item or section of a bill that solely makes a reduction of an existing appropriation," the Counsel’s memo notes. Assembly Bill 1 was passed by a simple majority in the Legislature – not a two-thirds vote mandated for original appropriations that are subject to the blue pencil.

"The California Constitution provides important safeguards to prevent a single elected official from circumventing the entire legislative process," Thompson added. "We’re confident that the courts will agree."

Community leaders will gather at a Tuesday evening rally and march in downtown Los Angeles to protest the illegal cuts and to discuss the suit. AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Marking 25 years of service in 2008, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit http://www.apla.org/.

Media Contact: Gabriel McGowan 213.201.1521 (o) 714.595.7530 (c) gmcgowan@apla.org

Researchers Decode HIV Genome for the First Time

Researchers the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have completed and published the first complete genome of HIV using techniques to sequence RNA. This complete genome allows new areas of research and more possibilities for experiments on the virus. This can improve our knowledge of how HIV infects and spreads through out immune system.

The HIV genome is composed of RNA, rather than DNA. DNA works by forming into a simple double helix, while RNA twists and has a complex series of knots. This complicates trying to find an exact sequence, but also shows that the genes are influenced and expressed by the RNA. The Chapel Hill researchers completely reconstructed the genome structure into its finest resolution form.

The researchers have discovered how RNA affects the life cycle for those with HIV and also find HIV through one gene at a time. Experiments that a single gene and are then deactivated are still important to find how HIV works with the immune system.

This is just the beginning to finding a cure for HIV. It will still take time and effort, but having a complete genome for the virus will be one step closer to finding a cure.

Click here