St. Vincent's Awarded Grant for HIV/AIDS Training
09/29/2008
Funds will be used to train and educate emergency room and urgent care providers on post-exposure prophylaxis
Contact: Mary Mooney
212.604.2675
June 30, 2008 NEW YORK, NY - St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan has been awarded a grant by the New York City Department of Health as part of a new funding initiative to create HIV Centers of Excellence for clinical education. St. Vincent's will use the grant to establish and fund the Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, Training and Diagnostic Center. The center will train and educate emergency room and urgent care providers on the latest preventative treatment, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), currently offered at St. Vincent's HIV Center.
'Having this type of program puts St. Vincent's at the forefront of HIV prevention education. The grant will allow us to offer a unique service to the residents of New York City as the leader in post-exposure prophylaxis education and treatment in Manhattan,' says Dr. Tony Urbina, medical director of HIV/AIDS education and training at St. Vincent's.
PEP treatment consists of several different drugs that kill HIV cells before they have the chance to cause infection. PEP is 80% effective in preventing the disease when taken within 36 hours after exposure. Dr. Urbina stresses that early treatment is critical for exposed persons and encourages immediate medical attention, preferably within two hours after exposure.
Those seeking treatment during regular business hours can turn to the St. Vincent's HIV Center in the O'Toole Building, 203 W. 12th Street, 1st floor. After hours, the Emergency Department at St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, located on 7th Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets, will offer PEP to exposed persons. The center will also provide a 24-hour, toll-free hotline for PEP consultation.
St. Vincent's HIV Center, one of the oldest and largest in the country, has long been a leader in fighting the disease and caring for patients with compassion. The PEP program is another addition to the rich background of the program as it enters 20 years of service to the residents of New York City. For more information on St. Vincent's HIV Center or the PEP program, visit www.svcmc.org.
About Saint Vincent's
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers (Saint Vincent's) is anchored by St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, an academic medical center located in Greenwich Village and the only emergency room on the Westside of Manhattan from Midtown to Tribeca, St. Vincent's Westchester, a behavioral health hospital in Westchester County, and continuing care services that include two skilled nursing facilities in Brooklyn, another on Staten Island, a hospice, and a home health agency serving the Metropolitan New York area. Its behavioral health services also provide supportive housing programs for people with mental illness throughout the Metropolitan area. Saint Vincent's is the designated provider for the New York and New Jersey region of the US Family Health Plan sponsored by the US Department of Defense.
Saint Vincent's serves as the academic medical center of New York Medical College in New York City. The healthcare organization is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn and the president of the Sisters of Charity of New York.
