Bill to 'Revolutionize' HIV Testing Passes California Legislature Unanimously.AB 2899 (Portantino, D--Pasadena), Sponsored by AIDS Healthcare Foundation The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is a non profit, Los Angeles-based AIDS treatment and advocacy center. Their official founding pledge is to "provide cutting-edge medicine and advocacy, regardless of ability to pay. (AHF AHF antihemophilic factor (coagulation factor VIII). AHF abbr. antihemophilic factor AHF, n the abbreviation for antihemophilic factor. See also factor VIII. ), Overhauls Counseling Model for HIV Testing HIV test Various tests have been used to detect HIV and production of antibodies thereto; some HTs shown below are no longer actively used, but are listed for completeness and context. See HIV, Immunoblot. Programs; Bill Eliminates Outdated 'One Size Fits All' Approach for More Prudent Public Health Approach SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the operator of the largest non-government HIV testing program in California, today praised the California Legislature for its passage this week of Assembly Bill 2899 (Portantino, D--Pasadena). "AB 2899 will revolutionize the way we do HIV testing in California, and we strongly urge the Governor to sign this bill," said Michael Weinstein Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein is an attorney, businessman and former Air Force officer. He is founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and author of With God on Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military , President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "Today, in government-funded programs, extensive education and counseling is required for every person regardless of how many times they might have been tested. Treating the young person, who is testing for the first time the same as a person in their forties or fifties who has been tested dozens of times doesn't make sense. This important reform will allow AHF, the largest 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. tester in California, to do three times as many tests per hour as we do now. The unanimous approval of the legislature for this common sense approach to HIV testing is very encouraging." The bill, known as the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexually transmitted diseases Infections that are acquired and transmitted by sexual contact. Although virtually any infection may be transmitted during intimate contact, the term sexually transmitted disease is restricted to conditions that are largely and HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Counseling Reform Bill, unanimously cleared both chambers of the Legislature this week--clearing the California Assembly (64-0) earlier today after clearing the Senate in a 36 to 0 vote yesterday. "This bill brings the requirements for HIV counseling in line with where we are today in our knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, and it will allow us to focus our counseling efforts where they are most needed--to those at high risk and those who may test positive," said Joey Terrill, Acting Director of Public Affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, co-sponsor of the bill. "The California Legislature has recognized the importance of this prudent public health legislation with its unanimous passage in both chambers. When this bill is chaptered into law, it will allow the Department of Public Health and the State Office of AIDS far more flexibility in its counseling regulations to best serve and reflect the needs of communities throughout California." AB 2899 codifies the changes that testing organizations need to conform their practices to current needs and to facilitate the swift introduction of newer counseling models by the Office of AIDS. About AHF AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the nation's largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 80,000 individuals in 20 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia. Additional information is available at www.aidshealth.org |
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