Where NJ Stands this World AIDS Day

by: Jason Springer

Mon Dec 01, 2008 at 06:37:48 PM EST

Today is the 20th year observing World AIDS Day. Capitol Quickies blog has a good piece providing a summary of where NJ stands:

According to the state Department of Health & Senior Services, more than 35,000 persons were reported living with HIV or AIDS in New Jersey, with minorities accounting for 76 percent of adult and adolescent cases and 78 percent of all persons living with the disease.
State-level data indicates the number of new cases of HIV/AIDS in New Jersey dropped to 924 last year, smallest since annual records began to be kept in 1990. At its peak in 1992, 6,593 cases were identified in a single year and 4,071 deaths were recorded. Last year, 29 deaths in HIV/AIDS cases were reported ? the smallest number on record, and down every year since 1992, or 15 straight years of declines.
The Health Department says New Jersey ranks fifth among the states with more than 70,890 cumulative AIDS cases and has one of the highest percentages of women who have the disease. The proportion of cases resulting from drug use is down, though still high, while the share of people exposed through sexual contact is rising.

They also provided county and municipal statistics. The numbers appear to be trending down, but there is still much more to be done. Consider this an open thread to share your thoughts, opinions and feelings twenty years later. How has AIDS affected you, your friends or your family?

Jason Springer :: Where NJ Stands this World AIDS Day

Tags: Department of Health and Senior Services, NJDHS, AIDS, HIV, World AIDS Day, (All Tags)

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Where NJ Stands this World AIDS Day | 5 comments

Needle exchange (0.00 / 0)

needle exchange?

i guess that's too "hot" or "icky" for our pols to press properly. in the meantime, people will continue to needlessly transmit HIV, Hep and other bloodborne nastiness.

time to strip away the judgement and implement a robust and well-funded needle exchange in NJ.

activist for hire.

by: Jay Lassiter @ Mon Dec 01, 2008 at 23:41:20 PM UTC

it is a question of money (0.00 / 0)

But, how much does it cost for one AIDS patient versus needle exchange?

by: Creed Pogue @ Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 04:25:29 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

charity care (0.00 / 0)

I am guessing here, but the cost of ONE HIV+ person w/ HEPatitis that ends up on charity care is gonna run at LEAST $100,000/ a year. and that's just for the meds.

Unfortunately most hard core addicts don't have rock ribbed health care plans. othewise this would be an issue for Blue Cross and NOT for the taxpayers on NJ.

activist for hire.

by: Jay Lassiter @ Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 12:29:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

the politics of needle exchanges (0.00 / 0)

until recently only New Jersey and Delaware had no legal needle exchanges. There are four in NJ now, all on a trial basis. Camden, Newark, Jersey City and ... I don't remember, maybe Paterson.

The opposition in NJ mostly came from within the cities, where the focus was on the idea that somehow needle exchanges were fostering drug abuse. Ron Rice Sr. of Newark was a vocal opponent. So it's not just a question of money, because it's clear that preventing AIDS is cheaper than treating it.

I can't find any recent info on the annual cost of treating an AIDS patient who has no insurance, but it was around $35,000/yr in 1993, so ... it's more than that now. Of NJ ADAP (HIV drug subsidy) users, 73 percent have no insurance.

On World AIDS Day, do take a moment to visit the website of the Hyacinth Foundation, NJ's primary AIDS caregiving organization, and make a donation if it is within your power to do so.

http://www.hyacinth.org/hyacin...

http://www.statehealthfacts.or...

by: denniscmcgrath @ Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 13:32:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]