HELP FOR HIV PATIENTS MOBILE DENTAL CLINIC TO SERVE A.V. REGION.Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer LANCASTER - A mobile dental clinic will begin treating people with AIDS The People With AIDS (PWA) Self-Empowerment Movement was a movement of those diagnosed with AIDS and grew out of San Francisco. The PWA Self-Empowerment Movement believes that those diagnosed as having AIDS should "take charge of their own life, illness, and care, and to minimize or 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. infection in the Antelope Valley in April in a joint project by private and public agencies. The motor home-turned-dentist's office on wheels is expected to treat as many as 400 or 500 AIDS or HIV sufferers in the Antelope Valley and will also serve areas in Pasadena, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Whittier. ``This is a public and private partnership,'' said Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San . ``Working together, we were able to come up with the funding and the resources to put this together.'' Dental care for AIDS/HIV sufferers has been the service most lacking in Los Angeles County, according to the Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
The mobile clinic will allow patients in cities far from the APLA's dental office to get services they would otherwise not be able to receive. Previously, patients without insurance or with limited insurance had to drive to the AIDS Project Los Angeles AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by HIV disease, reducing the incidence of HIV infection, and advocating for fair and effective HIV-related public policy. dental office near downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . APLA APLA AIDS Project Los Angeles (California) APLA Asia Pacific and Latin America APLA Atlantic Provinces Library Association APLA Antiphospholipid Antibody (syndrome) provides services for low-income patients free of charge or determines the cost based on a sliding scale of income. Officials said nearly 41 percent of the patients are not charged and that half of their patients have annual incomes under $10,000. The APLA mobile clinic was obtained by support in the way of funding and resources from the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) in Los Angeles County's department providing public and personal health services to the over 10 million residents in the County. and several private organizations including the Antelope Valley Hope Center, part of High Desert Health System in Lancaster. ``People living with HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome have complicated oral health needs,'' said APLA Executive Director Craig Thompson. ``We are grateful that we were able to assemble government support and generous Los Angeles foundation support to allow us to meet those needs in a professional, safe setting that can reach people in underserved areas.'' The clinic will come to the Antelope Valley on the fourth Friday of each month and park near the Hope Center at High Desert Health Systems, the county medical clinic at 44900 60th St. W. in Lancaster. Its staff will be a dentist, a hygienist and a dental assistant dental assistant n. A person trained to assist a dentist with clinical and administrative procedures. as well as a driver. The dentist is trilingual, speaking English, Spanish and Tagalog and the hygienist and dental assistant speak English and Spanish. Officials said they hope to expand the mobile dental clinic services to more than once a month in the future. An estimated 1,200 people have AIDS or are infected with HIV in the Antelope Valley. Recent statistics suggest that one quarter of those don't know they are infected while another one quarter aren't getting treatment for the condition. APLA has provided services for AIDS/HIV sufferers in the Antelope Valley since the early 1990s, officials said. The organization expects to supply as many as 10,000 bags of groceries and personal care items to low-income AIDS/HIV sufferers in the Antelope Valley. For more information on the mobile dental clinic or APLA's services, visit their Web site at www.apla.org or call (213) 201-1600. Greg Botonis, (661) 267-7802 gregory.botonis(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Dr. Steven J. Vitero shows off the new private- and public-funded mobile dental clinic that will visit the Antelope Valley monthly to treat HIV/AIDS patients. (2 -- color) Checking out the new mobile dental clinic for HIV/AIDS patients are John F. Schunhoff, public health chief of operations, left, and Craig E. Thompson, director of AIDS Project Los Angeles. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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