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WHEREAS, in 2012, City Council approved legislation to create the Pittsburgh HIV / AIDS Commission with the express purposes of fostering better communication between healthcare service providers and individuals at risk for or living with HIV / AIDS and creating a collaborative space for community, business, academic and governmental leaders to address the needs and goals of better HIV / AIDS prevention, education, and treatment; and
WHEREAS, since then, the Pittsburgh HIV / AIDS Commission has worked to provide policy guidance and recommendations to the City’s leadership and health community to better achieve those goals; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, Pittsburgh City Council pledged its partnership and support to the goals of the AIDS Free Pittsburgh initiative to achieve an AIDS Free Allegheny County and to reduce the rate of new HIV infections by 75% by the year 2020; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that more than 1.2 million people are living with HIV, yet approximately 14 percent are unaware of their status as such; and
WHEREAS, according to 2015 Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Annual HIV Surveillance Summary Report, as of December 31, 2015, there were 2,830 individuals in Allegheny County living with HIV, with approximately 150 new cases HIV / AIDS reported each year; and
WHEREAS, nearly 74 percent of individuals living with HIV / AIDS in Southwestern Pennsylvania live in Allegheny County, with approximately 20 percent of those in Allegheny County unaware of their status; and
WHEREAS, according to Pennsylvania Act 148, known as the Confidentiality of HIV-Related Information Act, a healthcare or social service provider can’t share individuals’ results when tested for HIV, allowing individuals who test positive for HIV to better maintain their medical privacy; and
WHEREAS, it is critical that individuals at risk of or living with HIV / AIDS but unaware of their status are presented with every opportunity to learn their status, so that proper services and treatment can be sought as early as possible; and
WHEREAS, since 2008, CDC has recommended that all visitors to primary care physicians, regardless of risk factors, be offered HIV testing as part of routine preventative care, so that those who are in fact living with HIV / AIDS but unaware have a greater and more frequent opportunities to learn their status; and
WHEREAS, similarly, since 2013, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force has recommended regular testing of adolescents and adults from ages 15 to 65; and
WHEREAS, a statewide policy encouraging physicians and healthcare professionals to routinely offer HIV / AIDS testing at check-ups and visits, with oral patient consent being sufficient to perform the test at the time of the visit, it may become easier for those living with HIV / AIDS to learn their status and seek the appropriate treatment; and
WHEREAS, the earlier treatment begins once an individual contracts HIV / AIDS, the more effective that treatment may be, with antiretroviral therapy having been demonstrated to have marked benefits to those with HIV / AIDS, including increased life expectancy and reductions in likelihood of transmission.
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NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby urge the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Department Director Dr. Karen Murphy, Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine, and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to create and promulgate the appropriate regulatory requirements so as to encourage medical service providers and professionals and healthcare teams to offer HIV testing at each routine visit.