Andrew Kruzich, HRSA Grant Administrator for AIDS Projects, Dies of AIDS-Related Complications at Age 55

Andrew Kruzich, 55, who worked for eight years with the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration as a grant administrator for AIDS organizations, died from AIDS-related complications on Thursday at his home in New Orleans, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Kruzich, who retired two years ago, was responsible for distributing more than $100 million a year to community organizations throughout the country that provided health care for people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to distributing grant money, Kruzich helped develop new projects and provided start-up money to the projects that aimed to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment, according to Deborah Parham, associate administrator of HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau and one of Kruzich's colleagues. "Because of the kind of work that Andy did to make sure that people had access to care and treatment, thousands of people all over the country are alive today," Dr. Joseph O'Neill, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, said, adding, "He was somebody who, in a very quiet, persistent, constant way, was very effective in getting done what needed to be done. He had truth, honesty, persistence and a great deal of heart." Prior to his work with HRSA, Kruzich worked with the New York-based AIDS Theater Project and the New York AIDS Consortium, as well as establishing and writing grants for AIDS service projects in Washington state (Pope, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 1/4).