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PRESS RELEASE
Dr. Anthony Fauci of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and Ronald Johnson of AIDS United Headline GMHC Webinar
Aging with HIV: Surviving Another Epidemic
New York, NY (Sept. 10, 2020) - In commemoration of National HIV and Aging Awareness Day (Sept. 18), GMHC's National Resource Center on HIV and Aging site (www.AgingHIV.org) will host a national webinar, "Aging with HIV: Surviving Another Epidemic" on Thursday, Sept. 17, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm EDT. Keynote speakers are Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and lead member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and Ronald Johnson, senior policy fellow at AIDS United, who will examine the challenges facing older adults living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar is free and open to the public, but advanced registration is required.
"Older people living with HIV are now facing the dual threats of COVID-19 and co-morbidities connected to aging with HIV," said Kelsey Louie, MSW, MBA, CEO, GMHC. "This webinar will provide an unprecedented opportunity to hear from leading experts about how to reduce the risks to health and well-being from both diseases while building resilience."
Topics of the webinar will include the impact of COVID-19 on at-risk older adults with HIV, increased access to geriatric care and mental health services, implementing exercise programs, addressing food scarcity, loneliness and social isolation, and needed policy changes to the Ryan White Care Act. Other speakers include researchers from Cornell Medical Center, University of Southern California, New York University and University of California, San Francisco, as well as leadership from Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging at Hunter, GMHC and Weill Cornell Medical Center.
In the United States as of 2020, 58 percent of the 1.2 million people living with HIV are age 50 and older. In New York City, the North American epicenter of the HIV epidemic, just over 60 percent of all people with HIV (127,000) in NYC are age 50 and older.
"These older adults are exhibiting higher rates of illnesses associated with aging--cardiovascular, liver and kidney diseases, cancers, frailty, and osteoporosis," said Stephen Karpiak, PhD, GMHC's lead researcher on HIV and aging. "They are socially isolated due to HIV/AIDS stigma and find themselves especially impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic, which exacerbates their already high rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and loneliness as they age."
In response to the aging of the HIV epidemic, GMHC continues to be a leader in developing new programs that address the unmet needs of people 50 years and older who are living with the disease. GMHC continues to expand its services to address the unmet needs of this population who include long-term survivors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Registration for the webinar, click here.
The webinar is supported by funding from Gilead Sciences.
Interviews can be arranged with:
- Kelsey Louie, MSW, MBA, CEO, GMHC
- Lynnette Ford, MSW, MA, Senior Vice President, GMHC
- Stephen Karpiak, PhD, GMHC's lead researcher on HIV and AgingRichard Havlik, MD, retired NIH Section Chief from the National Institute on Aging
Older Adults Living with HIV
- Gregg Bruckno
- Michelle Lopez
- Mark Milano
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About Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC)
Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is the world's first HIV/AIDS service organization. GMHC is on the front lines providing services to over 10,000 people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Programs include: testing, prevention, nutrition, legal, supportive housing, mental health and substance use services. GMHC also advocates for stronger public policies at the local, state and federal levels with the goal of ending AIDS as an epidemic. For more information, visit www.gmhc.org.
Source: GMHC
"Reproduced with permission - GMHC"
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