AIDS DAY HIGHLIGHTS A NEED FOR AWARENESS.Byline: CONNIE LLANOS llanos (yä`nōs), Spanish American term for prairies, specifically those of the Orinoco River basin of N South America, in Venezuela and E Colombia. Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, -- It could be a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend. More than 2,000 people living in and around the Santa Clarita area have AIDS. The L.A. County Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
While figures for the Santa Clarita area pale in comparison with the approximately 40million AIDS cases nationwide, educators and health care providers in the area say awareness and information on the disease is necessary -- particularly today, National AIDS Day. ``We need to recognize that (AIDS) is a health problem, and we as residents of Santa Clarita need to be supportive and need to be aware,'' said Cheryl Leymon, executive director of the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center. Leymon agrees AIDS/HIV is not the most serious health issue locally, but equal access to health care services and support should be a priority for every disease, she said. ``There is still a definite stigma where the general community believes that people who have HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome have somehow brought it upon themselves,'' Leymon said. ``We all need to be better educated.'' On college campuses and in school classrooms, teachers and nurses have tried to incorporate the worldwide issue into their scholarly circles. ``You can bring the AIDS discussion to almost any classroom. You could talk about the AIDS epidemic in biology discussing its epidemiology, in statistics looking at how the numbers are gathered and even in psychology looking at how those living with the disease deal with their grief,'' said Beverly Kimmerling, director of the Student Health and Wellness Center at College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. . Kimmerling, in college health care for 14 years, will be distributing condoms and information to students today. But, she said, she talks HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. and AIDS prevention daily with students. English teacher Maggie Burr burr (bur) bur. burr n. Variant of bur. burr 1. a plant seed capsule carrying many hooked structures which catch in animal coats thus promoting dissemination of the plant. will test her students to gauge their knowledge on the disease and then have them research its effects -- all with the hope it will breed compassion in her students. ``Global issues are very important, and AIDS is a huge global problem. Educating them will only make them better global citizens.'' |
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