Firefighters,
paramedics, emergency medical technicians, law enforcement officers,
correctional officers; special provisions relative to certain
communicable diseases.
The presence of
HIV (Human Inmmuniodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome) has had a profound effect on the cost of health
care in the correctional setting. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in
prisons exceeds its prevalence in the general population. As the
prison population increases and inmates are being incarcerated
longer due to stricter sentencing guidelines, the costs of HIV/AIDS
will continue to rise as inmates remain in prison through the later,
more costly stages of the disease and new treatment protocols are
developed.
We are here to demand
that the city of Orlando come clean on its 20-year conspiracy to
hide medical records from its fire fighters and other city
employees, and make things right. Because of the city's cover up
there are fire fighters dying of Hepatitis C, an illness that has
been recognized by the state of Florida as one of many job-related
ailments that attack fire fighters and paramedics.
These headlines are
becoming far to common for Firefighters and Emergency workers. Alan
P. Brownstein, President and CEO of The American Liver Foundation,
states "Hepatitis-C, as an emerging infectious disease, is one of
the most serious public health problems that the United States will
face as we begin the new millennium."
This paper
seeks to ascertain the rate of co-infection that exists in
Florida, gaps in treatment, a projection of future costs for how
this is effecting HIV prevention and care activities throughout
Florida, and a projection of future financial impact. A short
history, epidemiological information, treatment theories, and
associated costs are presented for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C,
and co-infections between them. A survey was administered to
providers from both the public and private sector to achieve a
realistic perspective on hepatitis outreach, testing, and
treatment.
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