Chicago Tribune (CT) - SUNDAY, August 4, 1996 Edition: CHICAGOLAND FINAL Section: METRO CHICAGO Page: 1 Word Count: 962
James Hill, Tribune Staff Writer.

When you are taking a test for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, the anguish can be even worse.

"Man, it's like being on pins and needles for two weeks while you are waiting for those results. You get this adrenalin rush," said Vernon Smith, 25, of Chicago, speaking of the tests he took to detect sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The results were negative on both.

Now, Smith said, he is a habitual user of condoms. He said he is tired of leaving his health and his fate up to chance.

For the last two years he has been involved in a successful and relatively obscure program put on by the Cook County Department of Public Health aimed at helping him and dozens more. "The Program," as it is called, uses long-term individual and group counseling to influence behavior in people who don't practice safe sex and have previously contracted STDs or are considered at high risk to contract STDs or HIV.

The difference between the Cook County program and the countless others out there is that most medical services that treat people with sexually transmitted diseases typically provide little or no follow-up care.

People are treated, given a lecture--sometimes a condom--and are sent home, only to return with the same problem.

Cook County's program, and its administrator, Gail Grabczynski, a medical social worker, are trying to break that cycle. Instead of just a client seeking treatment, the treatment seeks the client. Grabczynski wanders the halls of the Markham Public Health Clinic--where people come to get treated for STDs and HIV--looking for candidates.

She introduces herself, befriends the client and arranges a meeting--either in-home or at the office--and tries to cultivate a friendship. All program participants are volunteers.

For the participants, hearing a constant voice of reason makes a huge difference.

"It was more than just talking about sex, and Gail doesn't just preach to you; she's your friend," Smith said earlier this summer as he attended a graduation ceremony at the Northern Trust Bank Building in Chicago for those who successfully completed the program.

"It was about self-help . . . rebuilding yourself. I gained a whole new perspective."

A thorough analysis on the success of the new program is being formulated, and a scientific evaluation of the county's STD/HIV awareness program is still in the works.

But this much is known: Of the nearly 70 clients who have taken part, records show that only one has contracted a sexually transmitted disease while in the program, and only five have dropped out, according to Grabczynski.

The program--which is funded by a five-year $78,000 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, with matching funds from the Cook County Department of Public Health--only has been tried on a relatively small scale.

But its apparent success has the CDC looking to duplicate it in other cities across the country--including Denver, San Francisco and Houston, as well as in Chicago.

The need for such programs is not dissipating. AIDS is now the leading cause of death among Americans age 25 to 44, according to recently released CDC statistics.

The biggest margin of increase is occurring among heterosexuals and intravenous drug users, many of whom live in inner-city areas where prevention measures have been slower to take hold.

The startup program operates out of the south suburbs because consistently high incidences of STDs are found in suburban Cook County, particularly the south suburbs.

Those rates indicate that the traditional "Here's your medicine, now go and sin no more" tactic has proven ineffective.

The clients who participate in the program meet with Grabczynski at least twice a month: Once on an individual basis, and a second time in a group setting.

Besides getting a ride to and from the meetings and a catered meal, they learn about STDs and their symptoms, condom use with a partner and abstinence.

The fight to educate people about STDs and HIV, while sometimes frustrating, is a personal one for Grabczynski. While completing her undergraduate studies in social work in Detroit, she worked with a man--who became a friend--who died of AIDS.

"For the first time I saw how scary this disease was. I saw him totally consumed by this disease. He passed away before my eyes," she said.

The program addresses all sides of a client's existence, from how to find food and shelter, to how to deal with a relationship and how to achieve goals.

"You have to start from the basic needs, and work your way up. Sex isn't until the third level," Grabczynski said. "A person who is in an abusive environment, or has no place to stay . . . the last thing they are going to be worried about is practicing safe sex."

Yashina Ladd, 20, who entered the program because she was a "high-risk" client who didn't practice safe sex, said what changed her behavior was meeting someone who was HIV-positive.

"I never knew anyone that was HIV-positive," Ladd said. "It really made a difference to see someone and talk to someone with it, up close."

Sherrie Rogers, 19, who met Grabczynski when she sought treatment for an STD at the Markham clinic, said the program has helped to rebuild her life.

"I gained a lot of self-esteem, and a will to reach my goals," said Rogers, who has been involved for two years in the program. "I know that I am worth something."

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