Kaiser Permanente Southern California Grants for HIV/AIDS Community Organizations Total More Than $750,000 for 2009

PASADENA, Calif., December 1, 2009 — Kaiser Permanente announced today that more than 60 nonprofit organizations from Kern to San Diego will receive grants totaling more than $750,000 to help fund a wide range of services for people with HIV and AIDS, including youth education, prevention, screening and treatment programs, as well as housing assistance and food pantries. Kaiser Permanente’s community benefit HIV/AIDS funding for 2009 will exceed $1.25 million to California agencies this year, bringing the total to more than $6.25 million since the grant program began in 1989.

"We provide quality care to 6,000 HIV-positive patients and collaborate with other organizations in services for non-members who are at risk of, or have acquired, the disease. The latter is where our education and community benefit grants play an important role," said William J. Towner, MD, the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Regional HIV/AIDS Physician Coordinator and Medical Director of Kaiser Permanente Southern California's HIV/AIDS Research Trials (H.A.R.T) Program.

Many of the 2009 grant recipients were selected by committees at each medical center and included physicians, nurses, health educators, and other Kaiser Permanente staff members who work with HIV and AIDS patients from the communities they themselves serve. Other agencies were chosen because they provide services that are not covered by insurance benefits or are not available through state, county and federal agencies. The largest award to a single agency was provided to the AIDS Service Center in Pasadena totaling $40,000.

In greater Los Angeles, encompassing the Los Angeles Medical Center and the West Los Angeles Medical Centers’ service areas the following agencies received grant support: AIDS Research Alliance (ARA); AIDS Service Center; Asian American Drug Abuse Program; Bienestar Human Services; Being Alive; Camp Laurel; Clinica Monsenor Oscar Romero; Covenant House; Common Ground - The Westside Community Center; Hollywood Community Housing Corporation; Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center; Los Angeles Jewish AIDS Service; Minority AIDS Project; People Assisting the Homeless (PATH); The Saban Free Clinic; Serra Ancillary Care Corporation; The Wall - Las Memorias; and the Westside Family Health Center.

In Baldwin Park, grants funded in 2009 include: Bienestar Human Services, Inc.; East Valley Community Health Center; Serra Ancillary Care Corporation; and AIDS Service Center. In South Bay and Downey areas, grant recipients are the AIDS Project Los Angeles; Alta Med Health Services Corporation; Bienestar Human Services, Inc.; California State University Long Beach, Center for Behavioral Research and Services; Project Angel Food; Serra Ancillary Care Corporation; South Bay Family Healthcare Center; St. Mary Medical Center’s CARE Program and Clinics; and Whittier Rio Hondo AIDS Project.

In the San Fernando Valley, Panorama City Medical Center’s grants are going to The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center; Project Angel Food; Project New Hope; and the Valley Community Clinic. In 2009, the Woodland Hills Medical Center provided grants to Northeast Valley Health Corp.; Valley Community Clinic; and the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance. Kaiser Permanente’s HIV grant funding in Orange County was awarded to AIDS Services Foundation Orange County; Action: Aids Care Teams in Our Neighborhoods; Shanti Orange County; The Center OC; Laguna Beach Community Clinic; Mercy House Transitional Living Centers; and the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team.

In the Inland Empire, the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center provided grants to the Central City Lutheran Mission; and Foothill AIDS Project. The Riverside Medical Center awarded grants to the AIDS Assistance Program; Desert AIDS Project AKA DAP; Foothills AIDS Project; and Working Wonders. Completing the 2009 HIV/AIDS grant presentations throughout Southern California, in Kern County the recipients were Bakersfield AIDS Project and the Clinica Sierra Vista; and in San Diego, the community agencies receiving Kaiser Permanente grants were Auntie Helen's Fluff & Fold; Being Alive; Christie's Place; Council of Community Clinics; Family Health Centers; Fraternity House; Neighborhood Healthcare; North County Health Services, Inc.; Operation Samahan; San Diego Youth Services; San Ysidro Health Center; Special Delivery; and Vista Community Clinic.

Unique public health programs also demonstrate Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to prevention education. For over twenty-four years, the award-winning Educational Theatre Programs has educated more than 1.6 million high school students in Southern California about the risks of STDs and HIV/AIDS. Its newest play, What Goes Around, will perform on World AIDS Day, December 1st for 700 students at Gertz-Ressler High School in downtown Los Angeles. Stephen Simon, City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator, will also be a guest speaker. This program is offered as a free community benefit from Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Programs.

Kaiser Permanente’s research into HIV and AIDS began in 1987. Throughout Southern California, in addition to receiving medical care from their physician-led team, Kaiser Permanente patients with HIV are also able to receive investigational new drugs through the Kaiser Permanente Southern California HIV/AIDS Research Trials Program. With access to new and life saving drugs, many patients have had the opportunity to regain control of their HIV disease and improve their health and quality of life.

"As a pioneer in the area of education, research and treatment for patients living with HIV, Kaiser Permanente continues to support programs within its medical centers and throughout the community that provide hope, comfort and vision for a brighter and healthier future," said Towner.