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We are proud to announce
Yet, this thirtieth year is a time for positive reflection and hope. Tremendous progress has been made on every level - locally, nationally and internationally. Humanity has been given the opportunity to learn much from this small retrovirus - and we have. From the tremendous acceleration in medication approval for HIV patients to the expansion of sexual literacy and dialogue - progress has been made. I remember in the early 1990’s when I was working in a small local hospital with a patient who had one of the first cases of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in the area; the deadly pneumonia that strikes persons with a very low immune system. The staff in this small facility were so unfamiliar and afraid of this illness that they wore extensive gowns and masks whenever they entered the patient’s room. She was a young woman who was just as frightened by the staff as they were of her. At age twenty-seven, she had only had three boyfriends in her lifetime. She only found out that she was HIV positive after one too many visits to the gynecologist’s office for a yeast infection. We had to spend a lot of time disrobing the fear of the hospital staff, in an effort to allow them to provide their much needed compassionate care. In her own way, this frightened patient was a heroine and leader in HIV care. Likewise, WNCAP is our regional hero and leader, who fights the fear and stigma of HIV/AIDS everyday. WNCAP continues to focus, with relentless determination and hope, its staff, and resources in making our part of the world better for people with HIV/AIDS. In a time when many may say - “what is the big deal - can’t you just take a pill for that?” - WNCAP has learned that the easy path of complacency is not an option in defeating HIV/AIDS. Medications are not enough. We must continue to educate, assist, care and facilitate on every levels to create a hopeful path for tomorrow. I want to personally engage each of you to be a leader and a beacon of hope in the effort to make WNC a better place for everyone. Please Raise Your Hand as we mark the 30th year anniversary of HIV. Raise Your Hand to be a part of the hope that the next thirty years finds us with a planet free of HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Polly Ross
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Dr. Ross is often requested to lecture on a national, state and
local level on HIV disease. She recently served as co-chair of the
14th Annual National Ryan White Clinical Care Conference held in
Tampa Florida. She is also the Lead Rural Preceptor for the
Southeastern AIDS Training and Education Center (SEATEC) as a
one-on-one trainer of providers who are new to HIV care. She is an
active member of the NC ADAP Advisory Committee, and has been a
clinical reviewer for many Ryan White Part C & D programs. Dr. Ross
has also worked for the NC Department of Corrections as a contract
physician providing care for HIV positive inmates in the western
half of North Carolina, a position that she held from 1997 until
December of 2010.
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Dr. Ross has made caring for persons living with HIV disease her
life’s work and professional passion.