news release

 

ANDREW J. SPANO, Westchester County Executive

JOSHUA LIPSMAN, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner of Health

 SUSAN TOLCHIN, Director of Communications

 

 

CONTACT:     SUSAN TOLCHIN                                                                           

                           MARY LANDRIGAN                                                                    

                                                                                                                                      (914) 813-5000 (After Hours)

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                  July 7, 2004 

 

THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT UNVEILS NEW

TOOLS FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV / AIDS

 

The Westchester County Department of Health is introducing two new publications to help in its ongoing battle against HIV / AIDS: an extensive needs assessment report and a new resource directory.

The long awaited HIV Prevention Needs Assessment Report was commissioned by the Westchester County Health Department and produced by the New York City based Partnership for Community Health in collaboration with the Westchester AIDS Council.  It provides an up-to-date assessment of current HIV prevention activities in the county and a discussion of identifiable prevention service needs.

“One purpose for this report was to enable us to take a fresh look at our portfolio of prevention services and reallocate resources to where they can be most effective,” said Dr. Lipsman. “The statistics on HIV/ AIDS in Westchester are very troubling, yet AIDS is a preventable disease and there are many things residents can do to protect themselves.  I believe this report will be a call to action for key stakeholders and community partners to renew our efforts to prevent the spread of this disease.”

The report identified 398 types of HIV prevention services operating within Westchester County and classified them according to the populations they serve and the type of service provided.  One key finding is that while prevention efforts are reaching the general public they may be insufficiently addressing the needs of critical target populations, such as high-risk groups and partners of HIV-positive individuals.

 

MORE

 

HIV/AIDS – Page 2

Only 3% of services target partners of HIV-positive individuals; a figure most would consider insufficient.  By contrast, a much greater proportion of services (22.1%) serve the general public.  A further 34.2% of services are aimed at high-risk populations.  Full details of the report are available online at www.westchestergov.com/health.  Based on these findings, the Health Department has issued five recommendations:

1.      Expand prevention programs that target the sex partners and needle-sharing partners of HIV positive individuals;

2.      Identify a group to coordinate seeking and spending HIV prevention funds;

3.      Bridge gaps in preventive services to target populations;

4.      Improve providers’ ability to assess risk and offer support;

5.      Develop a more detailed inventory of preventive services in the county.

 

The Westchester County Health Department also released a new edition of the Tri-County HIV/AIDS Resource Directory of Service Providers. This updated directory contains detailed information about agencies that provide HIV/AIDS related services in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties.  Funded by the Tri-County Ryan White Title I Steering Committee with a federal grant, the directory is available in English, Spanish and Creole. Contact information for 100 agencies is listed and indexed by 18 service categories.

For more information on HIV Prevention Needs Assessment report, or to obtain a free copy of the Tri-County HIV/AIDS Resource Directory, please call the Westchester County Health Department at (914) 813-5000 or visit our website at www.westchestergov.com/health.

 

-30-