COUNTYWIDE : Health Department Given $26,000 Grant
The Ventura County Public Health Department has received $26,000 from a new federal program to supplement programs for people who are HIV-positive or are AIDS patients.
The grant is part of the first allocation of funds distributed by the Ventura County HIV Care Consortium, an agency formed last year to dole out federal funds generated by the Ryan White Bill, said consortium co-chair Phyllis Stookey.
The bill, named for a teen-age AIDS patient who captured the country’s heart before his death in 1990, provides a mechanism for getting funds directly to the local care agencies where it is most needed, Stookey said.
The public health department allocation will pay for two part-time positions in the AIDS case management program as well as provide food, housing, counseling and nursing care to patients, said public health department deputy director James Pappas.
Other organizations receiving funds from the consortium’s $71,000 allotment include the Ventura County Medical Center’s nutrition program and AIDS Care, a local advocacy and care organization assisting people with AIDS, Stookey said.
The second allotment of Ryan White Bill funds are due in June, and should total more than $96,000, Stookey said.
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