Tennessee Clinic Provides AIDS ‘Success Story,’ Editorial States

The Women's Clinic of the Comprehensive Care Center, a Nashville-based clinic that offers care and treatment for HIV-positive pregnant women, is a "perfect example that with the right amount of awareness and commitment, progress can be achieved even against an enemy like HIV/AIDS," a Nashville Tennessean editorial states. One hundred percent -- 85 of 85 -- of the infants born to HIV-positive women seeking care at the clinic have been born HIV-negative, compared to a transmission rate of 25% to 30% when women do not receive HIV-specific care, the editorial notes. The clinic's success stems from the "extraordinary amount of effort" health care workers put into prenatal care and disease monitoring and the "extra attention" they give to keeping the infant away from the mother's body fluids during delivery, the editorial states. The editorial concludes, "The center is an example of how medical know-how and basic human compassion make for a strong combination, strong enough in fact to take on HIV/AIDS, one of the toughest menaces in the world" (Nashville Tennessean, 8/15).