Addressing Challenges Faced by New Yorkers Living with HIV/AIDS

On April 25, I was pleased to co-sponsor and speak at a seminar hosted by VNSNY CHOICE SelectHealth and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt’s Center for Comprehensive Care on improving care for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV). As the representative of a district with one of the state’s highest concentrations of PLHIV, I especially appreciated the focus on obstacles individuals face in getting the care they need, and solutions that are applicable in their neighborhoods and communities. Particular attention was paid to the challenges of AIDS and aging, medication adherence and the stigma that continues to surround HIV/AIDS more than 30 years after the start of the epidemic. I am committed to working with health care providers, community based organizations, and advocates to ensure that PLHIV have access to the care and support services they need, that research is accelerated to identify a cure for AIDS in our lifetime, and that we achieve the goal of zero new HIV infections.