Press Releases: Southern California
February 14, 2006
Kaiser Permanente Tops Four Million Dollars Committed to Fighting AIDS
Local HIV/AIDS Non-Profits Encourage You to Pop the Question: "Have You Been Tested?"
PASADENA, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente announced today that over $4 million in grants has been committed to fighting AIDS including $500,000 in grants presented to 47 local Southern California agencies in 2005 providing services to people who are HIV-positive or have acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
The individual grants awarded range from $1,000 to $50,000, and were given to nonprofit organizations that provide a wide range of services, including HIV testing, teen adventure camps, emergency food vouchers, and support groups for women and children with HIV. Many projects that received grants are involved in outreach efforts aimed at preventing new HIV cases.
"As the rate of infection continues to rise in most populations, it is important to ask your partner to be tested because it may take up to ten years for any symptoms to show," said Enid Eck, board member of the AIDS Service Center. "The next step is getting treatment and the Kaiser Permanente grants are critical because their physicians share expertise and resources with non-profits and community leaders throughout Southern California," added Eck. "This partnership provides a great model on how we should all be working together to fight this dreaded disease."
A committee of physicians, nurses, health educators, and Kaiser Permanente staff members who work with HIV and AIDS patients select grant recipients from the communities they themselves serve. Many agencies were chosen because they provide services that are not covered by insurance benefits or not available through state, county and federal agencies.
Kaiser Permanente has presented grants to HIV-focused organizations since 1989. In 2005, nearly $500,000 brought the total to more than $4 million since the program's inception.
In addition to grants, Kaiser Permanente's commitment to preventing disease of all kinds, including HIV/AIDS, is demonstrated by the organization's innovative public health programs.
Since the early 1980's when HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed, Kaiser Permanente has been a leader in meeting the tough challenges of this virus, both through medical care and work in the community. Beginning with the HIV Research Clinics in 1987, all Kaiser Permanente medical centers now participate in studies which have helped move HIV and AIDS treatment forward.
Another area of success has been in prenatal care. As a result of a concerted effort to increase HIV antibody testing, an impressive 90 percent of pregnant women receiving prenatal care at Kaiser Permanente in California are voluntarily tested for HIV.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region includes more than 49,900 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,000 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at kaiserpermanente.org.
