Woman’s Hospital has been awarded a $15,000 grant from The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) for its Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Prevention Program. The program provides case management for women with HIV and their babies from diagnosis and during prenatal care through one year after delivery.
Services for HIV-positive mothers-to-be begin before birth and focus on disease management, medication adherence and lifestyle choices. After delivery, babies receive antiretroviral medication for six weeks. Since 2005, Woman’s has not had an HIV-positive baby born to a mother enrolled in the program.
“We are very grateful for this generous grant from The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation,” said Teri Fontenot, Woman’s President and CEO. “According to the World Health Organization, up to 40 percent of HIV-infected pregnant women could transmit the virus to their babies without intervention. This program is critical to our mission to improve the health of women and infants.”
“The work that Woman’s does to help people living with HIV/AIDS is impressive, and very much aligned with Elizabeth Taylor’s passionate commitment to the cause,” said Joel Goldman, Managing Director of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. “ETAF is thrilled to present the Foundation for Woman’s with these funds to help further our shared mission.”
To date, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation has granted funding to more than 675 organizations in 44 countries across the globe.