December 1st is World AIDS Day, an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the pandemic and mourning those who've died of the disease.
Northern Nevada HOPES, a community health center in downtown Reno, started out as the first HIV clinic in the region back in 1997. Since then the nonprofit has expanded to provide all kinds of services, but HIV and infectious care continues to be a priority there. They even have a service, called the Ryan White Program, to help provide HIV-related services to those who are uninsured or underinsured.
"And that provides medication assistance, behavioral health, case management, and they're able to incorporate their health care here, so they can continue to live their lives as normally as they can," said Yajaira Rios, Ryan White Program coordinator with Northern Nevada HOPES. "It's not maybe at the height of our community's radar, but it's still a public health threat and it's important for us to advocate for our patients and let them know our clinic exists and we provide these services."
HOPES helps thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS in our community with things like therapy, case management and medication. And new medications and treatments are improving quality of life and reducing transmission rates.
"In the 1980's, you had to have a whole cocktail of medications," Rios said. "Now there's injectables, there are different pills you can take, lots of options," Rios said. "So people have that autonomy over their lives because of the U=U movement, which means undetectable equals untransmittable."
And as technology and treatments continue to improve, HOPES continues to grow. The health center offers everything from primary and pediatric care to labs, counseling and education.
"We're a growing clinic and more than anything we just want to let our community know that we're here to help them and be a lifeline for them, because sometimes that's all that people need."
More information: https://www.nnhopes.org/
