@AIDSHealthcare #Europe opens new #HIV/#AIDS clinic in Narva w/ EHPV After about a year of renovations and just one month after receiving its medical license, the Linda Clinic – a product of AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s partnership with the Estonian Network of People Living with HIV – began offering services in the city of Narva in June NARVA, ESTONIA – Earlier this month, a dream came true for the city of Narva, for the country of Estonia, for Europe, and for the world: the Linda Clinic – a greatly-needed medical resource for people living with HIV in Estonia – opened its doors to its first clients on June 10. The clinic, which received its medical license just one month before business began, was established through the cooperation of AHF Europe – the European branch of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest global AIDS organization – and the Estonian Network of People Living with HIV, the non-government organization (NGO) with which AHF Europe has been working since 2009. “This is only the beginning: the Linda Clinic will change the landscape of providing care and treatment to people living with HIV in Europe forever,” said Zoya Shabarova, Chief of AHF’s Europe Bureau. Latsin Aliev, the Executive Director of the Estonian Network, called Linda “the first HIV clinic operated by and for HIV-positive people in Europe.” Jekaterina Voinova, who is on the clinic’s Management Board, added that the “first and main rule for clinic staff is a friendly and unprejudiced attitude to patients.” “Our treatment model consists of multi-professional teamwork with strong linkage between medical and psycho-social services oriented on patient needs,” Voinova said. On the clinic’s first day of operations, infectious disease physician Juta Kogan and nurse Tamara Dmitrijeva saw five new clients, who had all been found to be HIV-positive during a testing event hosted by the Estonian Network in Narva the previous week – in fact, a young man and a couple who learned they were positive over the weekend were linked to care with a doctor by Tuesday, in line with one of the 12 Principles of AHF that mandates anyone who tests positive for HIV be linked to care within 14 days of their diagnosis. The space that once housed a workshop full of seamstresses and had become rundown after years of structural neglect is now a freshly painted, bright and welcoming source of treatment and care from HIV experts. “The transformation of the space which is now home to Linda Clinic from a dilapidated workshop to a state of the art healthcare facility is awe-inspiring,” said Denys Nazarov, AHF’s Associate Director of Global Policy. “The unrelenting dedication of AHF and the Network’s teams to see this project through to completion, despite all obstacles, has turned this dream into reality – bringing hope and compassion to a community that desperately needs it.” takeaction.aidshealth.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=15621.0
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 18:17:29 +0000
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