Stephanie Pietras has worked in healthcare with a specialty in HIV/Aids for 28 years. She is currently director of volunteer services for Bailey Boushay House, which is affiliated with Virginia Mason. Stephanie earned a B.S. from Marymount and an M.S from Loyola, and has lived in Seattle since 2007. Stephanie gave a well-constructed presentation on the history of Bailey-Boushay House and the developments in treating HIV/Aids.
The following is a synopsis of the development of the HIV/Aids disease and treatment since the beginning in 1981.
- 1981 The New York Times reports on a mysterious illness.
- 1982 The illness was given the name acquired immune deficiency syndrome, AIDS.
- 1984 A test for screening blood donations was developed and implemented in 1985, Rock Hudson died of Aids, R.I.P. Chimpanzees were used to develop the test. Poor Chimps…
- 1987 The drug called AZT which was developed in mice was approved for treating AIDS. Poor mice…
- 1988 The Surgeon General of the United States sent every household a letter detailing the known causes and precautions for Aids. 1990 It was estimated that 8 million people had AIDS.
- 1990 Condoms became the preferred method of protection from AIDS. Buy stock in condom companies.
- 1995 There was an increase in the disease in the women//children population, but infant infections started to fall due to AZT treatment.
- 1996 Combination treatment of antiretroviral were developed, also known as the “cocktail”.
- 1997 Aids related deaths in developing countries begin to drop, however 22 million people still have HIV.
- 2007 33 million people have HIV.
- 2010 Macaques and mice are once again used in testing for the drug called Truvada, which reveals positive results. Poor mice and Macaques.
- 2011 Antiretroviral are shown to reduce the risk of transmission of HIV by 96%.
- 2012 Most people worldwide eligible for antiretroviral are now receiving them.
Bailey-Boushay House continues to provide inpatient and outpatient hospice services for men living with HIV/AIDS. They have 172 volunteers working 13 hour shifts, and this is their 25th year in operation.
Yeah!
