Every December 1st honors World AIDS Day, a time to remember those who fought for better treatment and to combat ongoing stigma. Recently, WBFO’s freelance reporter Mason Ald spoke with Matt Crehan Higgins, the Vice President of Specialty Care at Evergreen Health about both progress and barriers found in AIDS and HIV treatment.
PLAIN LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION: Every year December 1st is World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day honors those who advocated for better treatment of HIV or AIDS in the past while also addressing the stigma that still exists. Better treatment includes the expansion of HIV medical service, and access to services that help a person stay in medical care. But people still face barriers in getting these resources including the fear of stigma. WBFO’s freelance reporter Mason Ald recently spoke with Matt Crehan Higgins, the Vice President of Specialty Care at Evergreen Health about the progress in and barriers to HIV/AIDS treatment. They discuss how HIV/AIDS treatment has evolved, what barriers still exist, and what steps can be taken to combat these barriers.
TRANSCRIPT
Mason Ald: Hi, I'm Mason Ald, and this is the WBFO Disabilities Beat. December 1st marks World AIDS Day, a time many honor those who fought for better treatment and against the disease's ongoing stigma. I speak with Matt Crehan Higgins, vice president of Specialty Care Services at Evergreen Health, about both progress and the barriers in HIV AIDS treatment. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Could you briefly tell me about World AIDS Day and why it's important to the community?
Matt Crehan Higgins: So, World AIDS Day is a long-standing day held on December 1st every year for a long time to acknowledge the impact of HIV and AIDS around the entire globe. And so it's a time to focus on the progress that we've made locally, to look at where we are locally, but also to remember that HIV and AIDS have impacted our entire world and continue to do so in different ways, and that depending on what the access to resources is in different places that people live, the outcomes can be different. So, it is a good time both to recognize the incredible progress that we've made locally, but also to really realistically acknowledge that that same progress hasn't been attained in all parts of the world.
Mason Ald: Where have you not seen that progress?
Matt Crehan Higgins: There are still people, we don't know how many, who are living with HIV who don't know their diagnosis. And so it's also a good thing to do at World AIDS Day to encourage everyone who doesn't know for certain that they've had an HIV test before, to talk to their medical provider about it, to access testing services at a place like ours or at a Department of Health, really anywhere you can get an HIV test, because knowing a person's status is really power, and we all have an HIV status and no matter what it is, there's something that we can do with that information. World AIDS Day is a good time to remember that too, for our own selves.
Mason Ald: What type of services do people like yourself at Evergreen Health provide?
Matt Crehan Higgins: So, for a person living with HIV, we provide ongoing medical care. Most persons who learn that they're HIV positive are able to start medication the same day or within a few days if they want to wait a little while, which is a big change from even eight years ago when people used to wait a little bit longer to even start treatment. And it's a humongous change from times 10, 15, 20 years ago. So, we are able to make sure that they have access to the medication that they need, that they have knowledge and resources to make sure that they know how to take it, and to know why they're taking it, but also to have access to other services that help a person to get engaged in medical care and stay engaged in medical care.
Mason Ald: How have you seen the perception and treatment change over the years, or maybe in the past 10 years that you've been working?
Matt Crehan Higgins: Something that we've known for quite a few years now is that a person living with HIV who's on effective treatment cannot pass HIV on sexually to their partners. And that's a big deal. And a lot more people know that, but not everyone knows that yet. And we're saying it as often as we can, but unfortunately, it's hard to replace old news with new news. I mean, it's sometimes hard to replace old-standing ideas with new information. And so something that's really important to all of us that people know is that if a person tells you that they're living with HIV and they're on treatment, there's no risk whatsoever in terms of engaging with them sexually. And I think that something that we want to see more and more is more people understand that, because, unfortunately, large amounts of stigma still exist in our community, in all communities, and we all have to take every opportunity that we can to reduce that.
Mason Ald: What types of barriers specifically in accessing treatment for HIV or AIDS still exist?
Matt Crehan Higgins: The biggest reason a person doesn't know their HIV status is the fear of stigma, and I see that repeated in studies pretty often. There's also, I think, not everyone knows, but it is true in New York State, there's a lot of programs that can help a person if they're uninsured or underinsured, to make sure that they're able to get their medication and make sure that they're able to get their treatment appropriately. And so in New York State, the HIV Uninsured Care Program makes sure that really just about everybody, people who are working, people who have other insurance but may have costs associated with their insurance, are able to access the medications, the laboratory tests, the medical service that they need to treat their HIV diagnosis.
Mason Ald: What other steps do you think could be taken to combat that stigma and those barriers?
Matt Crehan Higgins: I think, really, the most important thing is to encourage everyone of any identity, of any real or perceived risk experience, to know their HIV status and to take action on it. I think something that's been a big change in our movement over time is recognizing that we have to change the narrative away from the notion that a diagnosis... We want to be respectful always that a diagnosis is a big deal to a person, but we also want to be clear that there are action steps that can be taken for that.
Mason Ald: You can listen to the Disabilities Beat segment on demand, view a transcript and plain language description for every episode on our website at WBFO.org. I'm Mason Ald. Thanks for listening.