Sharon Parker, event and volunteer coordinator for Malama Pono, the Kaua`i AIDS Project, says the main message to the public is a simple one. “Everyone on Kaua`i should be tested,” she said. Parker stressed that all testing by Malama Pono
Sharon Parker, event and volunteer coordinator for Malama Pono, the Kaua`i AIDS
Project, says the main message to the public is a simple one.
“Everyone on
Kaua`i should be tested,” she said.
Parker stressed that all testing by
Malama Pono is strictly confidential.
“There’s no reporting (of results)
anywhere. All the testing is free and we use numbers, not names,” Parker
said.
The HIV antibody test tells if a person is infected with HIV. It does
not tell the patient if they have AIDS or will develop AIDS in the future.
The sooner people who are HIV-positive can be treated, the more the
progress of the disease can be slowed.
On Kaua`i, the Department of Health
and Malama Pono both test with Orasure. A swab on the inside of the mouth is
taken. Orasure has a high accuracy rate and there are no shots or blood
drawing.
Parker, who volunteered for Malama Pono for three years before
assuming the coordinator position earlier this year, said people on Kaua`i need
to open up on the subject of AIDS and HIV infection.
“It’s not talked about
here, which puts everybody – but especially kids – at risk. Teenagers here
don’t learn what they should” about the disease, Parker said.
Parker noted
that as more has been learned about HIV-positives, many more treatment options
have been developed, including holistic treatment.
Malama Pono is located
in the old Lihu`e Plantation Building (the big white structure) behind the
Lihu`e Post Office.
Parker stressed that Malama Pono is not the only
business in the building, and no one need know a person is visiting Malama
Pono.
The agency does more than HIV testing. It provides direct support
services, food distribution to HIV sufferers living alone in need, and
publishes a monthly newsletter.
Dec. 1 is the 13th annual World AIDS Day
Events celebration. Local events are on tap throughout December.
Additional
information is available from Malama Pono at 245-9577.
Staff writer
Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and
dwilken`@pulitzer.net
