Health care providers in greater Nebraska will have the opportunity to learn the latest treatment information for HIV/AIDS at a statewide conference on Wednesday, April 27, and Thursday, April 28, in Grand Island.
The Second Annual Nebraska Statewide HIV/AIDS Conference, titled “Making It Work!” will take place at the Interstate Holiday Inn, near the Grand Island/Hastings interchange at mile marker 312. The conference is sponsored by Central Community College and the Nebraska AIDS Education and Training Center, a collaboration of the University of Nebraska Medical Center HIV Clinic and the Nebraska AIDS Project.
“The HIV virus and AIDS disease are not problems that are exclusive to urban areas,” said Joseph Hoagbin, M.D., director of the Nebraska AIDS Education and Training Center. “For health care providers in central and western Nebraska, this conference will provide learning opportunities, as well a means for those providers to network with others and to discuss challenges that they have in treating HIV/AIDS.”
The conference will feature several didactic sessions, panel discussions and roundtable discussions. After a networking hour planned for Wednesday night, the conference will open on Thursday with a panel discussion of people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to various facets of HIV/AIDS care, topics for the daylong conference will include immigrant health care, methamphetamine, peer education and Hepatitis C.
Dr. Hoagbin, an assistant professor at UNMC, said the need for the conference is great in greater Nebraska. The UNMC HIV team travels to Grand Island every six weeks and to North Platte quarterly to see patients. Each time, their schedules are over-booked.
Those who would benefit from the statewide conference include physicians, physician assistants, therapists, dental health professionals, outreach workers, nurses, nurse practitioners, psychologists, educators, public health professionals, social workers, and faculty, students and staff in health profession schools. Consumers are also invited to attend.
Registration is $30 and includes breakfast and lunch. Continuing Education hours have been applied for through Central Community College.
To register for the conference, contact Central Community College, Kay McClure, at (308) 398-7443 or email at kmcclure@cccneb.edu. Scholarships are available by contacting Daniel Cobos at dcobos@unmc.edu or (402) 559-5750 prior to registration.