Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1985. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald - Saturday, December 7, 1985
Richard Wallace, Herald Staff Writer
The proposed network would be based at the Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Medical Center and would mean "a major expansion" of the local program for treating victims of the disease, said task force member Dr. Margaret Fischl.
The new approach would require "both a philosophical and logistical change," Fischl said. The plan -- which is intended as a pilot project that eventually might be used in other parts of the state -- would involve coordination of in-patient and out-patient AIDS treatment with such related services as education, counseling and home health care.
The expanded treatment program might require a staff of about 100 people, roughly five times the number now devoted to AIDS treatment at Jackson, Fischl said.
Fischl, who is the director of clinical research into AIDS at Jackson, said she feels "positive" about the approval of funds in the state budget for the treatment network. The plan probably could begin operation within six to nine months after approval of the budget request, Fischl said.
Jackson is overburdened by the demands of its growing AIDS caseload, Fischl said. The hospital sometimes faces the prospect of temporarily turning away people seeking out-patient treatment, she said.
Statistics presented as background for the recommendation showed that in 1982 there were 19 new cases of AIDS handled at Jackson. The figure for 1983 was 48; in 1984, it was 141; as of Oct. 30 of this year, there already had been 340 new cases.
According to federal figures through Nov. 11, the Miami/Dade County area has the nation's third-highest per capita incidence of AIDS, ranking behind New York and San Francisco.
The AIDS task force, which covered a wide range of AIDS-related issues in its three-hour meeting, adopted a statement from the Florida Association of Blood Banks on the risk associated with transfusions.
"There has never been any risk of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome associated with donating blood," the statement said.
The "minimum risk" in receiving blood "now has been virtually eliminated" since testing of all donor blood for exposure to the AIDS-linked HTLV III virus and other precautions have been instituted to eliminate high-risk donors, the association said.
The 11-person panel -- 10 of whom are doctors -- is scheduled to report findings and make recommendations to Gov. Bob Graham by Jan. 1.
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