Grasso to play key technical role within platform designed to enhance access to and retention in quality HIV care for women of color
Dr. S. Vincent Grasso, a member of the Stevens Healthcare Information Technology Management Advisory Board and Seminar Leader for the Stevens Healthcare Educational Partnership (SHEP), will act as technical lead, solution provider and systems integrator within a nation-wide initiative to enhance the quality of care to women of color suffering from HIV/AIDS. The US Department of Health and Human Services is the funding agency for the project, which will be implemented in urban centers across America.
The Principal Investigator for the grant is Arthur E. Blank, Ph.D., a well-known Associate Professor within both the Departments of Family & Social Medicine and Epidemiology & Population Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center.
The issue is of particular importance, Grasso said, based on recent HIV data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the August 2008 report:
- Women accounted for 26 percent of the estimated 37,163 diagnoses for adults and adolescents.
- Of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS, 64 percent were black, 19 percent were white, 15 percent were Hispanic, 1 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native.
- The rate of AIDS diagnosis for black women (45.5/100,000 women) was approximately 23 times the rate for white women (2.0/100,000) and four times the rate for Hispanic women (11.2/100,000).
- An estimated 95,959 women were living with AIDS, representing 23 percent of the estimated 421,873 people living with AIDS in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
"It is a great privilege to work with researchers such as Dr. Blank and others at Einstein/Montefiore on this grant," said Grasso. "Despite the benefits that advanced healthcare IT is delivering to many organizations, HIV/AIDS clinics around the world that treat the medically and economically disadvantaged possess technically related requirements that are currently not fully met. The team, strategic partners, and solutions that are finally assembled will certainly meet the grant expectations and are expected to exceed them."
"The work that Dr. Grasso will lead in this major grant will result in profound benefits for many in our communities who have been afflicted with this epidemic," said Dr. Donald Lombardi, Director of the Stevens Healthcare Educational Partnership. "The work also reflects the commitment that Stevens has toward applying our reputation in applied research toward solving vexing challenges in our society."