September 2009
e-Spotlight: Who’s Who @ Erie- Angie Rogers
Today, over 33 million people worldwide are HIV positive. While Erie Family Health Center concentrates on treating Chicago residents living with HIV/AIDS, Angie Rogers, a six year Erie veteran and family nurse practitioner, reaches out to those beyond city limits through the Global AIDS Initiative in Nicaragua, a grant funded program awarded to Erie by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC).
AFC awarded grants to 10 local Chicago agencies for international projects. Erie’s Global AIDS Initiative Project included clearly outlined objectives, including improving the knowledge of the community in HIV /AIDS prevention and treatment; providing counseling and education about HIV/ AIDS; and increasing the number of patients screened. Yet Angie and her team knew this project was more than achieving these goals- it was creating a long term commitment with a community. “It makes all the difference to establish relationships and build trust with those who are doing the work day in and day out,” says Angie. “Our biggest success will be improving and strengthening the existing health infrastructure and sustaining the program without us being there.”
Angie’s journey to Nicaragua with the Global AIDS Initiative was driven from her involvement with various health projects over the past seven years. “It began when I met an exceptional midwife, Alicia Huete, known as Mama Licha, and her dream to build a clinic to provide care for women of Esteli, Nicaragua,” recalls Angie. “The clinic would service all women regardless of ability to pay (www.mamasclinic.org).” Mama Licha not only sparked an inspiration in Angie, but showed the dire need to have treatment options available to the people in the community. After partnering with the local Nicaraguan health system, Angie saw the opportunity to work with this group to strengthen the country’s health infrastructure. “I have always thought a partnership between Erie’s HIV/AIDS program, Lending Hands for Life (LHL), and the local Nicaraguan health system would be a great way to share our experiences, ideas and resources,” says Angie. Luckily, an opportunity for Erie to apply for the Global AIDS initiative grant opened and Erie and the Nicaragua health system found a way to collaborate and help fight HIV/AIDS worldwide.
“Most people living with HIV do not have access to prevention, care and treatment and there is still no cure. HIV in Nicaragua is different than in the U.S. and they face unique challenges,” says Angie. “The majority are diagnosed when they are sick in the hospital and dying in their 20s and 30s.” The Nicaraguan health system offers free HIV screening but not many people get tested due to basic factors such as lack of public education, limited number of health professionals to administer the tests and running out of the supplies needed. “With the Global AIDS initiative grant, the health system in Nicaragua has the funding to offer basic HIV education and training for doctors, nurses and midwives,” says Angie. “They also are able to provide expanded testing on site and increase outreach efforts to test outside of the clinic.” Recently the Nicaragua health system presented an education session at a tobacco factory, resulting in 70 workers voluntarily getting tested for HIV.
The Global AIDS Initiative grant also supports the exchange of ideas between the Erie’s LHL program and the HIV team in Nicaragua, such as the trip Dr. Chad Harris, Erie’s LHL Family Practice Physician, and Angie took in July 2009 to visit the team in Esteli. The grant also enabled the group in Nicaragua to have internet access to contact Erie with any concerns, consult on difficult patients and assist with research. Looking forward, Erie hopes to expand efforts in supporting the work of the Nicaragua health system by applying for the 2010 Global AIDS Initiative grant to continue the efforts to support the program. Angie and Dr. Harris will visit Nicaragua in January 2010 to continue working with the team onsite. “It was very fulfilling for me personally to expand my work in Nicaragua to include Erie’s LHL program,” says Angie. “I am constantly in awe at how much health workers in Nicaragua can do with so few resources and am inspired by their efforts.”
Angie Rogers has a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She received a Masters of Public Health (with an international health focus) and Masters in Nursing from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.