In Focus #21: August 2006
Project Inform Changes Management
Structure to Better Serve Constituents
For the past year, Project Inform has been implementing a strategic
plan that will ensure the organization remains an efficient and
vital resource in the fight against HIV and in the search for a
cure. After extensive assessment and consultation, we have created
an innovative three-person management team that will be responsible
for all operations at Project Inform and will report jointly to
the executive committee of the Board.
We are pleased to announce that Project Inform’s Board of
Directors has selected Glen Tanking and Elisabeth Loeffler to serve
on this management team along with Founding Director, Martin Delaney.
Martin’s work, which focused in recent years on treatment
information and advocacy, will be broadened to include management
of all Project Inform’s programs.
As of April 2006, Glen Tanking is Project Inform’s Administrative
Director. Glen has served as our Director of Finance and Operations
since 1998, and has more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit
financial management and administration. Glen’s extensive
knowledge of Project Inform’s operational “back room”
as well as his established relationship with the staff and Board
make him the ideal candidate for this new position.
Also as of April, Elisabeth Loeffler began as Project Inform’s
Development Director—our first in several years. Elisabeth
most recently served as Executive Director of the Academy of Friends
(AOF), which annually produces the world’s premier Academy
Awards charity gala to raise funds that are granted to a diverse
array of Bay Area HIV/AIDS agencies, including Project Inform. During
Elisabeth’s tenure, AOF experienced a 15% increase in its
donor base. She is already known to several Project Inform staff
and Board members through her work in the community and has impressed
us with her strong commitment to building relationships with our
constituents.
We believe that this new management structure is the best solution
for providing Project Inform with long-term leadership and stability
in the years to come. The management team will work with a reinvigorated
Board of Directors that will bring its own set of new members and
skills to the table.
We are deeply grateful for your ongoing support of Project Inform
over the years, which has allowed us to serve the HIV-affected community
in so many ways over the past 21 years. Together, we will continue
to make an important difference in the course of the HIV epidemic.
Project Inform welcomes three new Board Members
On July 1, 2006, Project Inform welcomed three new members to the
Board of Directors to begin a two-year term—Michael Allerton,
Lisa Capaldini, MD and Michael Montgomery. Each of these individuals
brings a unique skills and experience to the board in the areas
of HIV/AIDS treatment, education, prevention and advocacy Michael
Allerton will serve as the board chair.
Michael Allerton has been working in AIDS prevention, conducting
research, and developing medical center programs since 1983. He
currently serves as the HIV Operations Policy Leader for Kaiser
Permanente, Northern California. His research in AIDS has been
accepted for presentation at three International AIDS Conferences:
in Montreal, Canada, Florence, Italy and Barcelona, Spain. Since
1991 he has been co-chair of the Regional HIV Steering Committee
which sets organizational policies and has developed clinical care
guidelines for the medical and social management of HIV infection.
Lisa Capaldini has been in private practice in Internal Medicine,
with an emphasis on the care of people with HIV disease, since 1988.
She received both her Medical Degree from UC San Francisco and Masters
in Public Health from UC Berkeley in 1983. Her areas of interest
include quality of life, doctor/patient relationship, and treatment
of neuropsychiatric disorders in a primary care setting.
Michael Montgomery began his career in 1994 at the Department of
Health Services, Office of AIDS as the HIV Housing Specialist and
shortly after became Chief of the HIV Early Intervention Section.
He became Section Chief of AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) in
1996, at the same time that triple HIV combination therapy became
available. In 1998 he became the Chief of the HIV Care Branch where
he was responsible for managing several Ryan White CARE Act programs.
Most recently Michael served as Chief, Office of AIDS, California
Department of Health Services and Chair of the National Alliance
of State and Territorial AIDS Directors. During his tenure he spearheaded
a successful national effort to secure additional rebates from anti-HIV
drug manufacturers for all ADAPs.
Project Inform’s health care advocacy program producing solutions
In January 2006, the largest change in public benefits in 40 years
was implemented when Medicare added a new prescription drug benefit
called Medicare Part D to improve access to the benefit. This benefit
has had a huge impact on tens of thousands of Medicare recipients
living with HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, the impact has been far from
universally positive.
Project Inform has been and continues to be a leader on this issue,
working with advocates inside and outside of HIV disease, to improve
the benefit. We have sought to protect people with HIV/AIDS from
some of the worst aspects of the benefit, helped coordinate Medicaid
and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) with Part D benefits
to provide the coverage people need, and educated people with HIV,
their providers, and other advocates about this complex, confusing
and often frustrating program.
Because of costly new medicines developed over the last few decades,
prescription drug coverage was long overdue for Medicare beneficiaries.
However, the final bill passed by Congress included elements very
harmful to some groups. One of the most troublesome was that dual
eligibles (those who qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare) would
be switched from their affordable, comprehensive Medicaid coverage
to more expensive private coverage with few protections. The bill
passed despite opposition by Project Inform and many other advocacy
groups.
During implementation, we won significant protections. These included
ensuring that all anti-retrovirals (along with five other important
drug classes) would be included on all plans, and allowing ADAP
to continue to assist Medicare beneficiaries. Despite these victories,
in January, the problems we anticipated were realized. In California
alone, as many as 20% of dual eligibles couldn’t access essential
medications. Project Inform worked in California and with advocates
from other states to ensure that state Medicaid programs provided
emergency coverage for dual eligibles who couldn’t get their
medications”. A total of 36 states provided some coverage,
though California is the only state continuing coverage through
January 31, 2007. We are continuing to work with key stakeholders,
including federal and state agencies, to troubleshoot, refine systems,
and develop new programs to fill gaps.
Project Inform team walks for
20th Annual AIDS Walk San Francisco
Members of Project Inform’s Board of Directors and staff
walked in the 20th annual AIDS Walk San Francisco on Sunday, July
16 in Golden Gate Park. Many thanks to all those who joined Team
Project Inform either by walking with us or contributing to one
of our team members! This is always a great time to get together
with friends and family to do something meaningful in the fight
against HIV/AIDS as well as a chance to walk in memory of loved
ones. The event raised nearly $3.8 million—a new record!—and
Project Inform is thrilled to be one of the beneficiaries. Thanks
for all the ways you contributed to the success of the Walk, and
for your love and support!
Help Is on the Way XII benefits Project Inform
On Sunday, July 30th the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation held its
annual summer event, Help is on the Way XII. This benefit concert
featured stars from Broadway, film, television and recording industry
as well as leading talent from the San Francisco Bay Area. Project
Inform is grateful to have been chosen as one of the beneficiaries
of this festive event.
We extend our gratitude to Joe Seiler and Ken Henderson and all
of Richmond/Ermet’s volunteers and donors who made this year’s
event a great success for the Bay Area HIV and AIDS community. Thank
you!
12th Annual Wilmot Ride raises more than
$30,000 to support Project Inform
On a beautiful spring Saturday, May 13th, dozens of cyclists and
friends gathered in Golden Gate Park for the 12th Annual Ron Wilmot
Bike Ride to raise more than $30,000 in support of Project Inform’s
health care and treatment advocacy services.
We are so grateful that Assemblyman Mark Leno was able to join
us and help kick off the day with a special resolution in honor
of Project Inform. Also, very special thanks to our top cyclists/fundraisers:
Pam Perillo and family, Alex Ingersoll, Ron Lezell and David Antman,
as well as to all who registered and help raise these much needed
funds for Project Inform!
This beloved fundraising event was founded in 1995 by Ron Wilmot,
an avid cyclist who personally relied on Project Inform’s
HIV treatment information to better manage his health. Ron founded
this bike ride as a way of supporting our work, and he sin-gle-handedly
raised more than $100,000 in the first two years of the Ride. Although
Ron died of AIDS in 1997, this fundraising event he pioneered carries
on. We thank the Wilmot family for their support over the years
and look forward to another ride in 2007.
Elizabeth Taylor teams up with Project Inform
and Macy*s to help people with AIDS in New Orleans
In honor of Elizabeth Taylor’s 74th birthday, the Elizabeth
Taylor AIDS Foundation made a gift of life: funding for a state-of-the-art
mobile medical unit to treat people with HIV in greater New Orleans.
Macy*s West also contributed to this project, and Project Inform
was honored to help facilitate these gifts and oversee the creation
of the unit. Once completed, Project Inform turned the mobile medical
unit over to the New Orleans AIDS Task Force (NO/AIDS), a leading
service provider in New Orleans that has a long relationship with
Project Inform. Project Inform took part in a public ceremony formally
launching the medical service on July 11, 2006, though its actual
use began months ago.
Manufactured in Ohio, the unit is almost 40 feet long and has two
exam rooms, a reception and education area and on-site x-ray facilities.
This is a much needed and appreciated gift, as the medical resources
in New Orleans remain strained after Hurricane Katrina. Nearly all
the clinics which specialized in treating people with HIV were destroyed
by Katrina.
Prior to the hurricane, the New Orleans area reported over 7,000
individuals living with HIV disease. The New Orleans’ area
largest HIV clinic—HIV Outpatient Program of the Medical Center
of Louisiana at New Orleans—was caring for about 3,200 individuals.
This clinic was badly damaged and will not re-open.
NO/AIDS Task Force’s primary medical care program provides
services to about 300 HIV-positive individuals each year. This number
may now be expanded because of the ability to bring medical care
directly to the people who need it most. Discussions are underway
with the State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans to allow
their use of the unit as well. If all goes as planned, this wonderful
gift will be improving the lives of people with HIV day and night,
all week long, for years to come.
Annual Evening of Hope Slated
SAVE THE DATE:
Evening of Hope, Wednesday, October 11, 2006
6:00–9:00pm
Fort Mason Officer’s Club
Bldg 1, Upper Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA
Project Inform’s signature annual event, Evening of Hope,
brings together new and longtime Project Inform supporters to recognize
one of the nation’s most trusted and well-respected AIDS service
organizations. In honor of Project Inform’s 21 years of information,
inspiration, and advocacy in the fight against AIDS, guests are
invited to enjoy cocktails, an impressive array of food and some
great conversation. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact
Elisabeth Loeffler, Development Director or call her at 415.558.8669
x211. Additional information and updates about the event are available
on the Evening of Hope page.
