HIV/AIDS advocates and lawyers in southern Florida say that several jails in Broward and Palm Beach Counties are consistently getting meds late to HIV-positive inmates, leaving treatment gaps that could lead to drug resistance. Activists are concerned that some inmates may develop AIDS.
Earlier this month, the family of Victoria Arellano, a 23-year-old transgendered AIDS patient who recently died in a San Pedro, California immigration detention center, announced plans to file a wrongful death suit for treatment failures while in custody.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
