A Vital Community Ally
A local HIV treatment and prevention clinic combats both old myths and new complacency to drive down a persistent infection rate.
Thirty-six years ago, scientists gave the AIDS virus a new name, calling it the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. It was often lethal, and patients were treated (when they could be) in inpatient acute care hospitals.
Founded in 1990, the AIDS Care Center served a vital role in the Hudson Valley, caring for people with HIV infection. It has transformed from being an inpatient care model to one that is entirely outpatient. It also has a new name, the Ally Care Center, an HIV Treatment and Prevention Primary Care Clinic. The Hawthorne-based center is part of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth).
Dr. Rebecca Glassman is the Medical Director for the Ally Care Center. She attended medical school and did her internship, residency, and first five years of medical practice in Boston. She and her husband, both Westchester County natives, moved back about 18 months ago with their three young children. She described it as a real homecoming.
While a series of medical breakthroughs have left the general public thinking that HIV is a thing of the past, the reality is that HIV continues to spread at an alarmingly high rate, given all we know. In 2019, 36,801 people received an HIV diagnosis in the United States. From 2015 to 2019, HIV diagnoses decreased only 9% overall in the U.S.
Examiner+ recently spoke to Glassman about the clinic, changes she has seen in caring for people with HIV, and some common public misperceptions.
Click HERE to view to the full story in the Examiner+.
