City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator
The City of Los Angeles has the second largest number of people living with HIV in the nation. It was in Los Angeles where the firs cases of HIV were diagnosed; and, since the mid-1980s, the City has been a leader in the movement to provide comprehensive health care, social services, and legal support to people living with HIV. As part of the City’s on-going commitment to respond to the HIV epidemic, the City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator’s Office commissioned Maroon Society to update their strategic plan with two broad goals: prevent new HIV infections and provide treatment and support for the people living with HIV. After a comprehensive review of HIV surveillance data for the past 20 years, stakeholder interviews, and a community forum with Mayor Eric Garcetti, we produced the new strategy, which prioritized groups for linkage to health care, outlined a plan to support health providers to implement routine HIV screening, and detailed steps to help people living with HIV adhere to their antiretroviral therapy regimen. The City relies upon the strategy to design and prioritize its efforts to serve people living with HIV and those at a heightened risk for acquiring HIV.