FOCUS ON THE FUTURE 1

New Options and New Directions in HIV/AIDS Treatment
This symposium was held on May 19, 2004, at Hotel Sofitel Los Angeles. It inaugurated a series of community update events, sponsored by the UCLA AIDS Institute, that are designed to provide the HIV/AIDS communities in greater Los Angeles with clear, concise, up-to-the-minute information on all aspects of the long-term management of chronic HIV infection, including recently approved and investigational drugs. The target audience for this program includes people living with HIV, office-based physicians and other heathcare providers, the staff and clients of community-based AIDS service organizations, and the press. The UCLA AIDS Institute developed this program in collaboration with Dr. W. David Hardy, the director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who served as the chair of the inaugural session. Our community partner for this event was Being Alive Los Angeles. Some 330 people living with HIV, their advocates, and their care providers attended this event. Dinner was served, and free parking was provided.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE 2

Growing Up and Growing Old on Antiretrovirals: An Update for Women
This event took place on September 17, 2004, at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, West Hollywood, CA. The specific purpose of this event was to update HIV-positive women, their advocates, and their care providers on the latest approaches to the long-term management of HIV infection in women, with a particular focus on pregnancy, childbirth, and the effects that chronic antiretroviral therapy may have on women as they enter the menopause. Dr. Judith Currier served as the chair for this event, which was co-sponsored by 23 AIDS service organizations in greater Los Angeles, among them CorrectHelp, an ASO for HIV-positive incarcerated women, the East LA Women’s Center, Women at Risk, the AIDS Research Alliance, WomenAlive, and Being Alive L.A. Lunch and child-care were provided, as was simultaneous translation into Spanish. Bus tokens or parking vouchers were issued to the 130-plus attendees.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE 3

Being Positive and Living Positively
This symposium took place on January 13, 2005, at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, West Hollywood, CA. The program was designed to provide HIV-positive individuals, their advocates, and their care providers with practical information on how to develop and maintain healthful life-style choices, to maximize the efficacy of antiretroviral treatment. Dr. Tony Mills, a seropositive physician with a large HIV/AIDS practice in West Hollywood, served as the chair of this event and talked about his experience as an HIV-positive physician who leads a demanding and rewarding professional life. This event was co-sponsored by more than 20 AIDS service organizations that provide support services for the diverse communities in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Dinner, free parking, bus tokens, and simultaneous translation into Spanish were provided. More than 300 individuals living with AIDS, their advocates, and local healthcare providers attended.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE 4

New Options and New Directions in HIV/AIDS Treatment
This symposium took place on May 18, 2005, at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel, West Hollywood, CA. This meeting was our annual update, following ICAAC, IDSA, and the Conference on Retroviruses, on new drug treatment strategies, treatment options, and future antiretroviral therapies. The target audience included people living with HIV/AIDS (particularly long-term survivors), care providers, and the staff and clients of local ASOs, more than 20 of which co-sponsored this event. Dr. Judith Currier, the co-director of the Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education at UCLA, served as the chair. Dinner, free parking, bus tokens, and simultaneous translation into Spanish were provided and more than 300 individuals living with AIDS, their advocates, and local healthcare providers attended.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE 5

Latinos and HIV/Latinos y la SIDA
This symposium took place on October 19, 2005, and was held at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Unlike all the other programs in this series—which are conducted in English, with simultaneous translation into Spanish—this one was conducted entirely in Spanish, with simultaneous translation into English, to encourage attendance and participation on the part of HIV-infected Latinos and their advocates. Dr. Octavio Vallejo, the organizer and chair of this event, is himself a seropositive physician, so he addressed the assembly both as a care provider and as a patient. The program that Dr. Vallejo devised updated listeners on recent developments in HIV therapy, epidemiology, and governmental policy as they apply to the Latino community.

The speakers included Trista Bingham, the chief of the seroepidemiology unit of the HIV Epidemiology Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, and Patricia Osorio, the co-chairs of ALIANZA Los Angeles. The program featured a panel discussion on the management of HIV treatment and services for the Latino community that brought together Andy Martinez, medical administrator of the Rand Schrader Clinic at USC Medical Center, Felix Carpio, the medical director of ALTAMED, Alva Moreno, director of the East Los Angeles Womens Center, Mario Perez, director of the L.A. County Office of AIDS Programs and Policy, and Oscar de la O, head of Bienestar. Omar Banos, editor of Impacto Latino, chairs the panel. More than 20 ASOs that provide support services for the Latino community were co-sponsors of this event. Dinner, free parking, and bus tokens were provided. More than 230 individuals living with AIDS, representatives of community-based organizations, and local healthcare providers attended the event.