Tickets are now on sale for “Vintners 2006: An Enchanted Evening.”
August 11, 2006, 6:00 - 10:00 PM
Vanderbilt Student Life Center
310 25th Ave South, Nashville
The annual wine tasting is a fundraiser for the Comprehensive Care Center and will be held at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center on the evening of Friday, August 11 at 6:00 PM. General admission for the event is $65, with host committee memberships available at higher levels of support. In addition to showcasing a wide array of new and exciting wines, the event features live and silent auctions, delicious food, a ballroom dancing exhibition, and announcement of the Neil Diehl & Anne Maier service awards.
Tickets and information are available at 615-321-9556, extension 259, ssimmons@compclinic.org, and www.compclinic.org.
The Comprehensive Care Center is nationally recognized as a leader in HIV/AIDS treatment and is one of the largest freestanding HIV/AIDS clinics in the nation. The HIV Medical Association named its Chief Medical Officer, Stephen Raffanti, MD, MPH, the 2005 Clinician Educator of the Year. “Time’s Up,” his personal essay, is the “On Being A Doctor” column in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. By describing a single patient visit, the article dramatically portrays the human impact of TennCare disenrollment.
Not long after last year’s Vintners event, those massive TennCare cuts left many patients struggling to maintain access to medical care and lifesaving medications. The proportion of uninsured patients at the clinic rose from 1% to 26%. The state was forced to trim benefits, leaving gaps in patient care.
Yet the CCC continues to serve over 2,100 individuals, never turning any patient away for lack of insurance or ability to pay. The broad range of medical and supportive services provided includes primary care, infusions, psychiatric services, adherence counseling and support, medical care management and nutritional consultation. The Center operates an obstetrics clinic that provides specialized care for pregnant HIV positive mothers. With the help of its dedicated professionals, more than 150 HIV positive mothers have delivered HIV-negative sons and daughters over the past four years.
The Comprehensive Care Center is affiliated with the Vanderbilt-Meharry Center for AIDS Research and is co-housed with the Vanderbilt AIDS Clinical Trials Center. This relationship benefits both patients and the community by maximizing access to emerging treatment options and creating opportunities to contribute to a wide range of HIV/AIDS research.
The Center also incorporates the Tennessee AIDS Education & Training Center, which provided nearly 1,300 students and professionals with HIV-specific clinical training over the past 10 months. CCC providers staff rural satellite clinics in Cookeville, Columbia and Springfield.
Research shows that HIV/AIDS patients in ongoing care experience dramatically fewer hospital visits. When they are hospitalized, CCC patients incur only half the costs of those who have not been in care. By providing outstanding comprehensive services regardless of individuals’ ability to pay, the Center protects the community and saves taxpayer dollars.
More can be learned about the Comprehensive Care Center at www.compclinic.org.
