AIDS Project Los Angeles Opens S. Mark Taper Foundation Center
on Eve of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

New facility to reach underserved communities; expand dental program and food pantry network, the nation's largest such programs for people living with HIV/AIDS

Los Angeles, Calif., January 22, 2008 - AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today announced a February 6 ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of its S. Mark Taper Foundation Center, a dental clinic and free food pantry located in South Los Angeles for people living with HIV/AIDS. The Center, funded by a gift from the S. Mark Taper Foundation, fills a key gap for oral health services in a historically underserved community. The opening coincides with National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, an annual community mobilization, HIV testing and treatment initiative held on February 7.

According to health officials, more than 70 percent of HIV-positive people in L.A. County need dental care, but fewer than 10 percent receive it. The 2,500-square foot site, located on the campus of the recently shuttered Martin Luther King Jr. - Harbor Hospital, will provide three operatories where dentists and clinical staff will offer a full range of dental services - an expected 1,500 procedures annually for HIV-positive people who have not previously received care. APLA is currently the largest community provider of dental services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.

"The S. Mark Taper Foundation Center will allow APLA to expand both the capacity and the quality of the region's health care services, and it will reinforce our commitment to meeting this community's most urgent needs," explained APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson.

South Los Angeles has the highest proportion of African Americans and women living with AIDS in the county.  The region is also home to the greatest number of Angelenos living below the poverty line, and one in three is uninsured.

"The barriers to care -- like lack of funds, transportation or insurance -- are especially acute in South L.A., where the poverty level is twice that of the rest of the county," Thompson explained.

Situated adjacent to the OASIS HIV/AIDS Clinic, the Center marks a significant expansion of APLA's work in communities of color, communities increasingly hard hit by the epidemic. While African Americans account for 13 percent of the U.S. population, they comprise about 50 percent of new HIV infections annually. And the rate of new HIV cases among Latinos is three times that of whites. More than 90 percent of South Los Angeles residents are African American or Latino.

"Regular oral health care is critical for HIV-positive people," explained Dr. Steven Vitero, medical director of APLA Dental Services. "The new facility will expand our ability to provide that care -- regardless of a client's ability to pay."

The Center will also house an expanded Necessities of Life Program (NOLP) food pantry, one of nine NOLP sites countywide that each week offer free food, nutrition counseling and classes to more than 850 low-income people living with HIV/AIDS.

"A balanced diet works hand-in-hand with drug therapy for HIV," said registered dietitian Janelle L'Heureux, APLA's nutrition specialist. "NOLP gives clients the nutrition education they need – and the food they depend on – to ensure they stay healthy."

The dedication event, on February 6 at 11:00 a.m. at the facility's new home on the former campus of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, is expected to draw elected officials including Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas (Second District) and Los Angeles Councilmember Jan Perry, along with celebrity HIV/AIDS advocates.

Other supporters of the S. Mark Taper Foundation Center include the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the B.C. McCabe Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation.

AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Marking 25 years of service in 2008, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.