SENATORS SNOWE & COLLINS ANNOUNCE $1.7 MILLION FOR HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins today announced that the Maine Department of Human Services and Regional Center at Lubec will receive a total $1,763,909 in federal funding to help advance health care and support programs for HIV/AIDS patients. The grants were awarded under the Ryan White CARE Act, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The grants were awarded to:

o Maine Department of Human Services, Augusta……..…$1,333,909

o Regional Medical Center at Lubec, Lubec………………$430,000

"A diagnosis of HIV/AIDS is devastating to patients and their family and friends. Programs that help HIV/AIDS patients access health care and support services give people somewhere to turn to get information about the disease, connect them with available medical treatments, and offer a supportive hand to help patients who are struggling with often debilitating conditions," Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement. "But the bottom line is that HIV/AIDS is preventable. We must encourage and support programs that educate people about how to protect themselves from this deadly disease."

According to the Maine Bureau of Health, more than 1,000 people in Maine have been diagnosed with HIV and an additional 300-400 people may be unknowingly infected with the virus. In 2004, 46 new HIV diagnoses were reported to the Maine Bureau of Health. At year-end, 20 of those people were simultaneously diagnosed with AIDS, likely indicating they had been infected with HIV for a long while before seeking testing. Information about the Maine HIV/STD Program is available on the Maine Department of Human Services web site at: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/ddc/HIV_STD.htm. The Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency) Act was originally signed in August 1990 to create a federal program designed to improve the quality and availability of care for persons with HIV/AIDS and their families.

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