While Connecticut correctional facilities have greatly improved care for HIV-infected inmates, substance abuse relapse, psychiatric problems, and disruption of routine often cause individuals’ health to decline upon release from prison. Dr. Rick Altice, Director of Clinical and Community Research and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Yale University AIDS Program, provides medical care to HIV-infected men and women within the correctional system and will discuss his work with current and released prisoners at the HIV forum on Tuesday, September 12, 2006, from noon to 1:30 pm at The Institute for Community Research (ICR), 2 Hartford Square West (146 Wyllys St.), Suite 100. The event is free; lunch will be provided and advance registration is required.

“Over one quarter of HIV-infected individuals in the United States enter the prison system annually,” says Dr. Altice, founder and director of Yale University’s HIV in Prison Program. After his involvement with the state of Connecticut in the 1991 class action lawsuit Doe vs. Meachum, documenting the inadequacies of HIV care in Connecticut prisons, Dr. Altice has partnered with the Department of Corrections and University of Connecticut’s Correctional Managed Health Care program to help provide a system of care for inmates. “Today,” he states, “the health care for HIV-infected inmates in Connecticut is the crowned jewel and a national model for other states.”

At Tuesday’s forum, Dr. Altice will discuss the HIV epidemic in the prison system, special issues in the treatment of HIV in correctional settings, and reasons that HIV–infected individuals don't continue care after release. He will present new models for prison-release programs, including directly observed HIV therapy, case management, drug treatment, psychiatric care and risk reduction counseling, and will discuss several recent projects to evaluate such programs.

Dr. Altice’s presentation will be of particular interest to health and social service providers, including anyone who works with HIV-infected patients and inmates; researchers; family members; corrections officers and those working with the criminal justice system; and community members interested in improving access to resources for HIV-infected individuals. He encourages anyone to come, “especially those who know little about HIV among prisoners, and the socially and medically disadvantaged.” He adds, “Those who share similar values as I do may find it a new area of interest, while those who disagree with my philosophy will have a forum to discuss their own ideas and engage in a dialogue about the pressing issues facing HIV-infected prisoners as they transition into the community.”

This is the first presentation in the Autumn, 2006 series of forums organized by The Institute for Community Research and the Connecticut AIDS Education and Training Center with support from Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim. The Hartford HIV Forum meets from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m., on the second Tuesday of each month from September through June. The goal of the forums is to give the local community the most up-to-date information on current topics in AIDS prevention, treatment, research and care. To register for the forum, call the Institute for Community Research at 860-278-2044. For more information about the series, contact Kim Radda at The Institute for Community Research at 860-278-2044 X285.

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