Open Door Clinic

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Open Door Clinic Vision: To be the premier provider of of sexual health and wellness services.

Open Door Clinic Mission: to improve health & wellness by providing education, prevention, screening & treatment of HIV/AIDS & other sexually transmitted infections.
Call Us Elgin, IL
Phone: (847) 695-1093
Fax: (847) 695-0501

Aurora, IL
Phone: (630) 264-1819
Fax: (630) 229-0182

More Location Information...

ODC News Letter

January 2010 News Letter -

A Closer Look At David Roesler!

Old News Letters...

What’s Happening?

Elton John's letter to Ryan White, 20 years after his death from AIDS

GreaterThan.org

CDC Issues H1N1 Warning for HIV-Positive People

On October 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning HIV-positive people concerning the H1N1 virus, the Dallas Voice reports.

According to the warning, H1N1 in people with low CD4 counts is expected to progress rapidly and be complicated by secondary bacterial infections such as pneumonia. Otherwise, the agency said, positive people “would be expected to present with typical acute respiratory illness and fever or feverishness, headache and muscle aches.”

“Persons with HIV infection should remain vigilant for the signs and symptoms of influenza,” the CDC warns.

While the H1N1 vaccine is available as a nasal mist, that form is made with an altered, live version of the virus, which could be dangerous to those with compromised immune systems. Experts advise HIV-positive people to wait for the injectable vaccine to become available.

NEW MAC AIDS CAMPAIGN FOR WOMEN

Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper on Good Morning America Interview About AIDS Awareness for women

View the video here to watch the interview.

Nine and a Half Minutes

Before we can stop any epidemic, we first have to recognize the magnitude of the disease. HIV is still a threat across the United States. And even though there are treatments to help people with HIV live longer than ever before, AIDS is still a significant health issue. Surprised? Get the facts:

Every 9½ minutes (on average), someone in the United States is infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
In 2006, an estimated 56,300 people became infected with HIV.
More than 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV.
Of those 1 million people living with HIV, 1 out of 5 do not know they are infected. (People who have HIV but don't know it can unknowingly pass the virus to their partners.)
Despite new therapies, people with HIV still develop AIDS.
Over 1 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with AIDS.
More than 14,000 people with AIDS still die each year in the United States.

In 2008, CDC developed new estimates for the annual number of HIV infections—which suggest that about 56,300 new HIV infections occur each year. This estimate is a national average. CDC arrived at the 9½ minutes figure by dividing the number of minutes in one year by the 56,300 new HIV infections that were estimated for 2006. This result indicates that, on average, one new HIV infection occurs every 9.34 minutes in a year. For more information on the 56,300 estimate visit the HIV Incidence section of the CDC HIV Web site.

AIDS Clock

The AIDS Clock has been ticking since 1997. UNFPA created the clock as way to acknowledge both the toll of the epidemic and the partnership that was formed to tackle it, UNAIDS (the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS).

The first AIDS Clock was presented to UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot at the United Nations public lobby in New York, where thousands of people had the opportunity to comprehend, in a visual and visceral way, the scale of the epidemic. The exhibit then traveled to Vancouver, the Hague and elsewhere.

When the AIDS Clock was unveiled, more than 24 million people were living with HIV. Most of those people have died by now. In each subsequent year, the deaths and the numbers of newly infected persons have continued to rise, and the numbers of people living with AIDS now exceeds 40 million.

In 2000, the AIDS Clock became a web-based feature. It was revised and improved in 2006. As long as it continues to tick, it serves as a reminder that time is running out in many lives and that accelerated measures are needed to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Other organizations, schools and networks are encouraged to link to and use this resource in any way they can to spread awareness of the epidemic and the programmes that are combatting it.

Click here for more information about the AIDS Clock program.

The Legacy Campaign

Despite the progress that has been made in the medical treatment of HIV/AIDS, people living with this virus still carry with them the additional burden of the stigma and discrimination this disease brings with it. Living with HIV/AIDS in the Fox River Valley of Illinois is no different. One thing we do know: the impact of personally knowing someone who is HIV+ dramatically minimizes fear, stigma and discrimination.

Open Door Clinic has begun to address these issues by undertaking the challenge of collecting and making accessible the personal stories of HIV+ people through "The Legacy Campaign." The stories compiled in this book are the first collected and demonstrate the diversity of lives impacted by HIV/AIDS here in the Heartland. They offer a powerful glimpse into the personal struggles of these courageous individuals who hope that their stories can contribute to limiting new infections while correcting and eliminating unwarranted fears, stigmas, and discriminatory practices where they live and work.

More About The Legacy Campaign...