Change coming for region's HIV case management

Sep. 28—HIV case management is changing hands in Northwest Missouri, with the Andrew County Health Department taking the lead in overseeing resources to fight the epidemic in Northwest Missouri.

That could mean helping with housing services, medication for HIV patients or pointing people toward other resources in the area, said Jayne White, director of clinical and emergency operations for the Andrew County Health Department.

"We're really trying and hoping that we can get together with the people of our region and kind of say, 'OK, these are the resources in your area, these are here,' and put together a resource for everyone to have so that people don't feel like they have to call us," she said. "If they're more comfortable calling their local health department or their provider, their provider or their health department would have that information as well."

The program is federally funded through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and has paved the way for Andrew County to hire a few additional employees specifically to help with HIV case management.

Having resources dedicated to assisting people with HIV is important because of the increased health risk caused by the virus, Megan McBane, a nurse with the Andrew County Health Department, said.

"HIV people are a more vulnerable population just with their health status. HIV causes lots of health concerns," she said. "So, like with the housing, if they're homeless, well, they're more likely to miss their medication or get another an opportunistic infection, something like that. So, Ryan White will help with housing, as long as most of these people are going to be at a lower federal poverty level as well."

The health department could expand services in the future to offer some preventative measures for residents, White said.

"There potentially could be a need for us to look at something like that just because of how it meshes with the program," she said. "If you're testing or you're doing those things and then somebody is positive or questions come up, it's that direct link right into it, so there will be some discussions."

Alex Simone can be reached at alex.simone@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NPNOWSimone.