Chicago Tribune (CT) - SUNDAY, January 1, 1995 Edition: CHICAGOLAND FINAL Section: WOMANEWS Page: 8 Word Count: 635
Eileen Durkin; executive director of the Howard Brown Health Center, the Midwest's largest private provider of HIV and AIDS services.

Chances are that you or someone very close to you has been touched by the enormous tragedy of AIDS. A family member, a friend, a colleague at work may have revealed to you a heartbreaking story that has both frightened and humbled you. Four hundred thousand victims of AIDS have shared the news of their diagnosis with loved ones and friends. Forty thousand will this year alone.

President Clinton recently appointed Patricia Fleming as the new AIDS czar with the pledge that she will have "direct access" to him. An African-American, Fleming worked as a health adviser to the late U.S. Rep. Ted Weiss and then to Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, previous to her current position. While she brings a strong track record to her post, the enormity of the disease and its impact on our society require her to apply strategic planning for the future of an epidemic that has been called the plague of the 20th Century.Fleming should be commended for her courage in taking on the role of her new and challenging position, and for the enormous job of leading the public and private sectors of our society toward an eventual solution. Hardened by 12 years of battle against this epidemic, we have armed ourselves with only three weapons: research, treatment and education.

Ten years ago, 9 out of every 10 persons with AIDS were white, gay men. Last year, 7 out of every 10 persons with AIDS were African-Americans, Hispanics and other minorities. Community-based AIDS service providers must be given the resources to provide aggressively information and support that is culturally sensitive and universal in its directness.

While research is being conducted with the anticipation of finding a cure, we are not now close to a vaccine for this epidemic that will infect 4 million people worldwide by the turn of the century. Ongoing research allows scientists, physicians and medical professionals to accomplish several critical objectives. Drug therapies improve the quality of lives of AIDS victims by treating associated illnesses. Understanding HIV progression allows medical professionals to anticipate illness and forestall symptoms of many life-threatening symptoms. Alternative therapies, such as nutrition, holistic and homeopathic treatments and experiments with acupuncture, meditation and massage therapy have proved to be very helpful.

Fleming has demonstrated a very sophisticated understanding of the importance of research and the millions of dollars and thousands of lives that are spared by increasing the body of knowledge about HIV. Her challenge will be to sustain and increase research funding levels and not allow this vital funding to fall victim to partisan politics and political backlash.

Treatment for persons living wiht HIV and AIDS allows them to live longer, stay healthier and make many great contributions to our society. Five to 10 years ago, an AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence without hope. Today, treatment for HIV- and AIDS-impacted persons, including federally approved medications, early disease interventions, alternative and nutritional therapies and mental health counseling, is making a big difference.

We may have a battle ahead of us in the re-authorization of the Ryan White Care Act that provides $579 million in treatment and therapy for persons with AIDS. We must all help Fleming and Shalala persuade a Republican Congress that this money allows terminally ill people to have basic human services to which all are entitled.

Fleming understands the battle ahead in Congress and throughout the country as we combat the most complicated virus in the history of the human race. She should be commended for her strong views on AIDS and its impact on all of our lives. We can make great progress if we continue this battle in government, research laboratories, service organizations, hospitals, schools, churches and in our homes.

CAPTION: PHOTO: Eileen Durkin.

950101
CT950103

ÆGIS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1995. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on ÆGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of ÆGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.