For immediate release: March 27, 2007
Contact: Mark N. Levine
Senior Director, Health Science Communication
702-671-6455
University of Nevada School of Medicine receives anonymous $384,000 gift to treat HIV/AIDS in at-risk mothers and newborns
LAS VEGAS, Nev.─ At least one anonymous Nevada donor believes in the adage that one never stands so tall as to when they stoop to help a child. A Las Vegas philanthropist has contributed nearly $400,000 to Nevada Care, a program that provides comprehensive care to children born to HIV positive mothers.
“The program’s objective is to provide a continuum of care to HIV positive women throughout pregnancy and delivery and to their newborns,” notes Echezona Ezeanolue, M.D., University of Nevada School of Medicine pediatrics professor and Nevada Care program medical director.
“There are nearly 500 women of childbearing age (15-44 years) with HIV/AIDS living in Clark County. The vast majority of these women are not receiving any type of care,” Ezeanolue adds.
The program is a partnership between the School of Medicine’s department of obstetrics and gynecology and University Medical Center’s Wellness Center. “The expanded program provides prenatal counseling to HIV positive women considering pregnancy, prenatal care and a screening clinic for their infants exposed to HIV,” notes Caroline Barangan, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and an adolescent medicine specialist with the School of Medicine.
The program hopes to provide an integrated comprehensive approach to combat the three most common preventable perinatal infections: HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis.
Donald Roberts, M.D., chairman of the University of Nevada School of Medicine’s obstetrics and gynecology department notes, “This program will provide the much needed link between public health and clinical practice and ensure that the number of children affected by these preventable perinatal infections continue to decrease and ultimately be eliminated in southern Nevada.”
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, and Surgery, as well as ten nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. As the largest multi-specialty healthcare focus within the state, the School of Medicine employs more than 185 doctors who both teach and practice medicine throughout Nevada. The school’s statewide faculty physician practice group has a combined 25 different medical specialties with seven physician practice offices located in the Reno-Sparks area and five physician offices located in Las Vegas.
The University of Nevada School of Medicine utilizes a best-practice approach to medicine and is committed to addressing the health needs of Nevada now and in the future. For more information, please visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.
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