Community Times Magazine_2020-04-01

The Community Times Magazine April 2020 -Page 11 HIV Still A Major Problem In The South By Stacy M. Brown Brodderick Roary, the director of Care Innovations at CareSouth Carolina, understands that even after nearly 40 years, there remains a stigma attached to HIV. But, Roary has a clear message he believes essential for all to hear. “The house is on fire in the South, and it’s up to us to put the fire out when it comes to HIV,” Roary said. For more than 30 years, CareSouth Carolina has served as a medical home — a place where people can experience healing, caring relation- ships — regardless of their circum- stances. As a community health center, officials said they understand patients are part of the center’s family. CareSouth Carolina delivers a compre- hensive set of services that meet the whole need — from pediatrics to phar- macy to community outreach — all under one roof. CareSouth Carolina, through Care Innovations, provides comprehen- sive HIV/AIDS primary health care for individuals in Chesterfield, Darlington, Lee, and Marlboro Counties, according to its website. These services are made possible through a federal Ryan White Part C grant. Patients can have a “one-stop” shop experience at CareSouth Carolina. The level of services is exemplary, compassionate, and catered to the individual and his or her needs. “HIV can be complex. In many ways, the geo- graphical region plays a big factor in the stigma,” Roary stated. “We live in the Bible Belt, and there are challenges around talking about sexuality and sexual health as a whole. People are still misinformed and not educated on HIV almost 40 years into this epidemic.” Roary added that there’s plenty of information online and in communities. “We have an outreach team here that understand that persons who are struggling with HIV/AIDS do not live in the medical office – they are out in our communi- ties living day to day lives,” Roary stated. The outreach team proves staff and resources to educate, assess, and facilitate the use of services for those out in the community. Roary noted that the drug Pre-exposure prophy- laxis – or PrEP – is available for those at risk for HIV. If taken daily, it can prevent HIV. PrEP can also stop HIV from taking hold and spreading throughout the body. “People don’t take advantage of PrEP because, again, peo- ple don’t want to talk about sex,” Roary said. According to statistics, Southern states have the highest rates of new HIV-positive diagnoses, the highest percentage of people living with HIV, and the lowest rates of survival for those who are HIV-positive. Nearly 52 per- cent of all new diagnoses of HIV in 2015 occurred in southern states, even though only 37 percent of the U.S. population lives in the South. “What’s more, HIV is a poor person disease,” Roary said. “Our population, those we see and help, are lower-income. We have people who don’t have access to transportation or proper health care. You can’t get to your doctor’s appointment in our area if you don’t have a car or transportation.” Roary said African American men and women are victim- ized most by HIV. “We really have to focus on what this really is. It’s a human disease. If we move back to humanity, we can see that the problem is that we haven’t had a real conversation about sexuality,” Roary stated. “That is a huge part of this. Because of shame and guilt, people are not open. We have to remove that.”