AIDS In Wisconsin 2006:
Five Questions For ARCW's Doug Nelson
Interview by Mike Fitzpatrick

Milwaukee - In the final weeks of September each year, Wisconsin’s two AIDS service agencies hold their major walk fundraisers. Saturday, September 30 will mark the 17th Annual AIDS Walk Wisconsin here. Themed in 2006 as “Soles Helping Souls,” and featuring celebrity chair BD Wong, the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin-sponsored 10K event will step off from the Henry B. Maier Summerfest grounds at Noon with a route that follows along the city's lakefront, then circles through Lake Park and doubles back to the starting point through the city's upper East side area. This year’s goal is to have 5000 walkers and teams raise $500,000.
  There is still time to get involved in this year’s event. Call Bill Keeton, Walker and Team Registration Coordinator for ARCW by email at: bill.keeton@arcw.org, by phone at: 414-225-1592 or by fax at 414-273-2357.  For more information online visit: www.aidswalkwis.org.
  Quest had the opportunity to ask ARCW’s Doug Nelson five quick questions about the State of AIDS In Wisconsin in 2006.

Quest: How would you assess Wisconsin’s current overall status In the battle against HIV/AIDS?

Nelson: Wisconsin is truly a national leader in the fight against AIDS. We can be proud that from the very beginning we have led the fight against AIDS aggressively and with enlightenment on AIDS prevention, care, treatment and advocacy.
  No state can match Wisconsin’s achievement on needle exchange. Our Lifepoint needle exchange program operates in 11 Wisconsin cities and is the largest statewide needle exchange program in the country.  It exchanges over 600,000 needles a year and in Milwaukee it has reduced the annual HIV infection rate among drug users by 66%.
  We’ve always been aggressive and creative in our outreach to gay men providing strong messages of HIV risk reduction. We’ve gone wherever we’ve been needed -- in the bars, on the Internet, at the festivals and even to public sex venues to help men stay safe. Our programs have been rated among the best in the country by the National Gay Men’s Health Conference.
  Our aggressive approach to AIDS prevention has made Wisconsin a leader in achieving one of the lowest AIDS case rates in the country.
  We are also an important national leader in HIV care and treatment. We are making sure that everyone with HIV receives the medical care they need. The ARCW Medical Center has become Wisconsin’s largest provider of HIV health care for all patients regardless of their ability to pay. Through a strong state AIDS Drug Reimbursement Program, we are also assuring that patients have access to the medications they need.
  We are leaders in providing integrated health and social services. The ARCW Dental Clinic assures good oral health, the ARCW Mental Health Clinic addresses the emotional issues of HIV, our food pantries provide nutritious foods, our statewide housing program helps patients remain in their homes and our legal services program helps patients secure entitlements and resolve difficult legal issues.  All of these services are coordinated through a major statewide system of social work case managers that is unique in the country.

Quest: What has been the greatest success in battle against AIDS in the last year?

Nelson: An enormous achievement is the advancement in medical treatment that enables patients to live long and healthy lives.  It has enhanced the prospects for a one pill a day drug regimen. It’s made HIV a disease that can be effectively managed with quality outpatient care.  And, it’s reduced the AIDS death rate in Wisconsin to its lowest level in 20 years.  This success is why our focus at ARCW is to provide health care for everyone regardless of their ability to pay so they have the chance for long and healthy lives.
  A recent big success for ARCW is securing a $2 million federal grant to open an HIV specialty dental clinic in our Green Bay office.  Good oral health is an important part of successful HIV treatment and this new clinic will be a wonderful resource for people across northern Wisconsin.
  We’re also pleased that in the past year we opened our fourth food pantry in Eau Claire that joins our pantries in Green Bay, Kenosha and Milwaukee.  These pantries offer good, nutritious food that is also a vital part of successful HIV treatment.

Quest: What remains the biggest challenge in battling HIV in Wisconsin?

Nelson: The major goal coming out of the recent International AIDS Conference in Toronto is universal access to health care for people with HIV all around the globe. Here in Wisconsin that must be our goal as well and it will be our biggest challenge.
  The ARCW Medical Center is vitally important to achieving this goal in Wisconsin.  Through our medical, dental and mental health clinics we are serving more than 1,200 patients, one-third of whom have no health care coverage whatsoever.  Very quickly the ARCW Medical Center has become the largest provider of HIV health care in Wisconsin.  We expect our patient census to continue to grow rapidly and ultimately exceed 2,000 patients in the near future. Our greatest challenge is to make sure that the ARCW Medical Center is well prepared to guarantee health care for all HIV patients in the years ahead.

Quest: What do you think Wisconsin does better than others in fighting HIV/AIDS?

Nelson: A lot!  Very few states can match the comprehensive statewide HIV health and social services that we provide. We are way ahead of most states in assuring access to HIV dental care. Few states have an HIV dedicated legal services program that reaches all areas of the state as we do.  Our statewide case management system is the envy of most states.  We have an impressive record of getting everyone with HIV into health care and making sure they have the medications they need.  No state has as large a statewide needle exchange program as Wisconsin. 
  Finally, our state government has always had a strong, bipartisan commitment to the fight against AIDS.  In the past year Governor Doyle and the Republican Legislature united to increase state AIDS funding by 25%. Wouldn’t it be nice if other states and the federal government would follow Wisconsin’s lead!

Quest: What do you think is the most important reason why people should participate in ARCW's AIDS Walk Wisconsin September 30?

Nelson: The fight against AIDS is far from over.  We’ve got to strengthen and expand our prevention programs to reduce HIV infections in Wisconsin.  We’ve got to make sure that everyone with HIV in our state can get the health care they need. When you join the AIDS Walk you can help raise the funds that will make all this happen.
  AIDS Walk Wisconsin is a spectacular event where thousands of people come together in solidarity to strengthen the fight against AIDS.  I guarantee that you will feel good about yourself when you participate in AIDS Walk Wisconsin!

Quest earlier put the same five questions to AIDS Network’s Bob Power (changing the name of the event in the final query to AIDS Walk, Roll & Stroll). We shared his insights with our readers in our September 14 issue available in print statewide and online.