title: The virus in our midst.
abstract: AIDS and HIV-seropositivity have shown increasing prevalence in the Mountain State. Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC), being the state's largest tertiary health center, has attracted a number of seropositive patients. This sample, though small by comparison to the experience of other tertiary centers, constitutes the largest single cluster of patients so studied in a single West Virginia hospital to date. This study documents both sociological and economic issues associated with the AIDS population. A clear profile of the typical AIDS patient in West Virginia emerges: 1) gay male; 2) native son; 3) unemployed; 4) Medicaid-dependent; 5) clinically well advanced; 6) infected out of state; 7) under age 30; 8) tertiary care dependent; and 9) homeless. The paper closes with a discussion of the possible growth of the AIDS population in West Virginia in the years ahead. Strategies are set forth to serve as guidelines for managing effectively the AIDS population's needs in both the clinical settings and in society at large.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patton
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005544:Forecasting; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014903:West Virginia