Beneficiaries of Telluride AIDS Benefit: CHIP

02 Feb Beneficiaries of Telluride AIDS Benefit: CHIP

[ Click to hear Susan's interview with Jessica Forsyth] 

 
The CHIP team

It was the wish of the Telluride AIDS Benefit’s muse, Robert Presley, to keep WestCAP healthy. The community-based referral, advocacy and service provider helped him in his fight against AIDS and remains of paramount importance to everyone on the Western Slope living with HIV/AIDS. TAB’s largesse, however, extends beyond WestCAP, its primary beneficiary, to Denver, where over the years the nonprofit has been able to give thousands of dollars to the Children’s Hospital Immunodeficiency Program or CHIP.

CHIP began providing specialized care for HIV+ children in the Rocky Mountain region in 1991. CHIP remains the only entity in the region providing comprehensive, coordinated, family-centered services to infants, children, youth (13-24), pregnant women, and parents of HIV-infected children.

As a National Institutes of Health-funded Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (PACTG) site, CHIP has participated in national and local research trials for pediatric HIV infection since 1992 and now ranks among the top performers in the network. As a model program, CHIP frequently welcomes visiting professionals from agencies and other institutions around the world.

In 2007 CHIP served 382 clients- 205 HIV positive patients, 30 HIV exposed infants, and 147 affected family members. Approximately 30% of CHIP client reside in counties not included in the Denver metro area.

CHIP’s staff includes highly trained, committed professionals with years of experience in delivering high quality HIV care and prevention, more than half of whom have been providing HIV care for over 10 years.  Medical providers include physicians certified in pediatric and internal medicine infectious diseases, adolescent and pediatric general medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and nurse practitioners with expertise in family practice, pediatrics, and midwifery.  CHIP has several licensed clinical social workers with particular expertise in serving at-risk youth, families, and pregnant women.

Jessica Forsyth, MSW, is a program manager for CHIP, involved in HIV care and prevention for over 10 years and has worked at CHIP for three years. In her podcast she describes how CHIP uses TAB funds and why TAB makes such a difference.