CLEVELAND — Zach Levar has worked for Cuyahoga County’s Ryan White Program for the last five years. He’s passionate about helping those living with HIV get the resources they need.
What You Need To Know
- World Aids Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the disease and mourning those who have died from it
- The Cuyahoga County Board of Health serves as the administrator for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Part A program, helping connect patients to health care and financial resources for coping with the disease
- The program has provided health services to patients through telemedicine during the pandemic
”The goal of the program is to provide HIV care for underprivileged or underinsured individuals living with HIV in a six-county region,” said Levar.
He explained that over 5,000 people in Cuyahoga County are living with HIV, and when the pandemic started last year, getting access to care was a concern.
But with telemedicine becoming widely available, the clients the Ryan White Program serves were able to stay connected to their doctors.
“We’ve heard and seen clients that may have skipped appointments before or not showed up for their appointments; being able to connect with their doctor or social worker or mental health counselor via FaceTime or a webinar platform has brought them back into care,” said Levar.
And on World Aids Day, Levar emphasized the Ryan White Program’s launch of a new campaign aimed at ending the stigma around HIV and those living with it.
“It’s not the same necessary death sentence that we always used to think it was. People can live completely normal lives. So that’s our main message,” said Levar.
In addition to Cuyahoga County, the Ryan White Program also serves Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Lorain, and Medina counties.
