Funding Source:
Ryan White Title II/III, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA),
Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS), Community Health Outreach
Workers (CHOW), and several small foundation grants.
Are all patients screened
for nutritional risk? Yes.
How often do you provide
nutritional assessments and follow-ups? Ms. Vining notes, “Depending
on the individual client’s needs, assessment/follow-up is provided at least
every six months. Clients who are at higher nutritional risk are
seen more frequently”.
Other Provided Nutritional
Services: BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) and Congregate meals
Patient Education Materials:
Lucia incorporates a variety of handouts, including those from the American
Dietetic Association (ADA) and other professional organizations
as well as those produced in-house. She notes, “Our facility also
has a lending library, and we recently purchased a wide variety of books
that are now available for loan to clients.”
What was the most difficult
issue you had to deal with when you started? Establishing trust with
clients and the community.
Who is your best ally?
The client is the best ally in individual care—unless he/she is internally
motivated to make dietary and lifestyle changes, no changes will be made.
Ms. Vining also works very closely with the physicians and case managers
to encourage clients to live healthier lives.
What differences exist
between your current clientele and that of the HIV-positive person in the
early 1980s? Unlike the early 1980’s, wasting and weight loss are now
not necessarily the primary nutritional concern for all HIV-positive people.
Do you participate
regularly in HIV/AIDS networking groups? Yes. Our organization participates
regularly in the Association of Nutrition Services Agencies (ANSA), the
American Dietetic Association’s HIV/AIDS Dietetic Practice Group (DPG#29),
the Kentucky State HIV/AIDS Advocacy Group, the Kentucky and Illinois Care
Consortia, and the Kentucky HIV/AIDS Advisory Council.
Is someone involved
in program operation also actively involved with your local HIV/AIDS Health
Services Planning Council? Yes. Our Executive Director, Krista Wood.
What have you found
to be most useful in helping to keep up with the current research on nutrition
and HIV? Ms. Vining notes, “I have found that membership and participation
in DPG #29 provides a great resource for current research and information.
I am also an active member of the electronic listserv for DPG #29 and find
that the regular interaction between dietitians is very educational.
|
